Race:Poe

Poe is a playable race on Hyrule Castle. As one of the seven elite races, a player must acquire a Race License specifically for this race to create a Poe character. As one of the "monster" races, beings of this race are traditionally abhorred by Hylians, may be attacked on sight, and are generally not allowed anywhere near the settlements in Northern Hyrule, nor in Ruto.

Canonically, Ghini debuted in the original Legend of Zelda. Poes or Ghini have appeared in nearly every canonical Zelda game since. On Hyrule Castle, Poes and Ghini are considered to be the same race.

Character Creation Brief

Though they gather mostly in Ikana and certain graveyards, Poes are mysteriously manifested all across Hyrule, and seemingly wherever sentient beings have died. Like Stalfos and Skull Kids, Poes are a race of undead beings; supernaturally animated from the remains of living beings, but not alive themselves. If a Stalfos is a manifestation of corpse's body, a Poe would be born from its soul.

A Poe's true form is only a tiny wisp, and most Poes must use a supernatural power to gain a physical form aesthetically similar to other humanoid races. As such, the appearance of a Poe can vary greatly, though most appear as stout, floating humanoids without legs. Unsurprisingly, any living being abhors Poes as monsters, while Poes themselves rarely have any idea who they are, leading many of their kind to become lonely, paranoid, or insane.

A Poe can begin with a PWC of 2/2/1, 2/1/2, or 1/2/2. In effect, a Poe can begin with a +1 to any two different aspects of PWC. Using the Exception racial perk during character creation, a Poe can begin with a 3 in any one aspect, and a 1 in the other two aspects.

A Poe has an innate racial perk called Undead, which represents its unusual state of non-living animation, and another innate perk called Disembodied. In addition to this, a Poe character can have up to three additional racial perks of choice. Aside from the general perks available to every race, a Poe can also choose from:

• Heart of Darkness: a trait which makes it easier to acquire Shadow-based treasures
• Hover: a spell enabling the Poe to levitate a short distance above ground
• Illusionist: a trait which makes it easier to acquire Illusion-based treasures
• Inheritance: a perk which enables the Poe to obtain a racial perk of the race it held in its former life
• Motionless Invisibility: a defensive technique which enables the Poe to become invisible so long as he remains motionless

Physiology

While not vital information, the following includes further detail on the race's appearance and biology.

Because of a Poe's body being a mere featureless wisp, gender is often a conscious choice made by the Poe. Some identify as male, others female, and a few even choose to be an "it."

What exactly births a Poe into its state of undeath isn't known. Sometime after death, a soul will occasionally be brought into a physical manistation in the form of a small wisp, thereby forming the Poe. A new Poe usually (but not always) has no recollection of its former life, and often has few or no similarities to its former self. Often, a Poe may not be initially be conscious or self-aware, and may wander for a long time before it gains true consciousness. Some Poes are fortunate enough to gain consciousness immediately. In either case, the Poe usually possesses an adult's mindset, maturity, and intelligence, but limited knowledge of the world, and no personal memories. This mental state is comparable to amnesia.

When a Poe is "born" in this way, it has no physical form, but still has normal mental capabilities. It exists only has the aforementioned faintly-visible "wisp," which resembles a fist-sized flame of an odd hue. Only through sheer concentration and practice can a Poe learn to manifest what others perceive as its body, through an ability known as Disembodied. This body generally takes a somewhat humanoid shape, often with childlike proportions. Since many Poes have the natural ability to hover, this body may lack legs, instead floating as an armed torso and head. Normally, the body appears somewhat monstrous, and lacks a strong resemblance to any specific race. On rare occasions, however, a Poe may be able to resemble its former shape--a Goron spirit may actually be able to still resemble a Goron, for instance. This occurrence is more likely if the death was recent, or if the Poe still has memories of its former life (which is rarely the case).

Despite manifesting a body, the Poe's soul will always remain a wisp. Some Poes carry the wisp inside their manifested body, but most carry it separately in a lantern or similar container to protect it. In either case, the body itself is only an extension of the soul's willpower. Any damage taken by the body will be felt by the soul, and any injuries taken will affect the manifestation as if it was a real body. Despite this, destroying the body will never kill the soul. So long as the soul persists, the Poe will live in undeath forever, and can only be destroyed with exceedingly strong magic which specializes in destroying Poes, or undead in general. A Poe with an injured or destroyed body can easily be captured, however. Without the aid of a manifested body, the small wisp is barely mobile, can travel only at a snail's pace, and can easily be trapped or even stored in a bottle.

Once a Poe learns to manifest a body, it can toggle its body off and on at will. Switching from the body state to the wisp state, or vice versa, takes only about a second. Once a Poe manifests a body, attempting to change its appearance is very difficult (and time consuming) without the aid of another treasure, such as Actor's Illusion.

Culture & History

While not vital information, the following includes further detail on the race's origins, development, and society.

Despite the well-known existence and proliferation of Poes, what causes them to manifest remains mostly a mystery. It's commonly believed that souls are more likely to be manifested into Poes in the presence of great evil, or by powerful magic, but neither method is consistent.

Like most races of supernatural origin, Poes have little collective society. Since they're reborn from souls of many different races, there's virtually no cultural similarity across Poes, other than a varying sense of isolation. They tend to be abhored by the common races of Hyrule, are never welcome in well-known settlements run by Hylians, and are often attacked on sight. This has caused many to seek refuge in areas where living races never travel, or join the armies of Ganon. The only well-known settlements which include Poes are Ikana Valley and the nearby Monster Village.