Skip to content

Dead Reach

Expression: Dead Reach

AX.GHW.08.02.02

They're there. Now what do you say?

Dead Reach is where Mediumship becomes interactive rather than purely perceptive. The practitioner doesn't just sense what is there; they make contact, open a channel, and where necessary compel cooperation from entities that would prefer to be left alone. This is where the tradition becomes difficult: the dead are not obligated to be helpful, some are hostile, and the ones who are useful often have their own agendas.

This expression is also where the two-way detection from the Haunt lineage becomes mechanically central. A Haunt using Dead Reach is visible to every entity in range; they are announcing themselves. That is the trade.

Dead Reach- Applications

Open Channel (Primary Action, Threshold 1–3 depending on entity state)

Establish two-way communication with a liminal entity within Near range. The entity responds, not necessarily in clear language, but in impression, image, or emotional direct transfer.

Threshold scales with the entity's state:

  • Threshold 1: Passive, inactive remnant. Contact is more like listening to a recording.
  • Threshold 2: Aware but neutral or passive restless entity. Conversation requires matching its frequency.
  • Threshold 3: Active, distressed, or hostile entity that has its own reasons to resist contact.

This application does not compel truth; it opens a channel. What the entity communicates may be incomplete, metaphorical, or deliberately misleading. Roll Wit + Attunement vs Threshold 2 to assess reliability.

Scaling: Excess successes improve clarity and allow one additional specific question per 2 excess.

Compel Testimony (Primary Action, Threshold 3, contested)

Force communication from an unwilling entity. The entity must engage, though it resists sharing more than it wants to. This is contested: the practitioner rolls Governing Attribute + Mediumship vs the entity's Wit or equivalent resistance.

Net successes determine scope:

  • Net 1: The entity acknowledges the practitioner and answers one direct question, minimally.
  • Net 2–3: The entity answers up to three questions without being able to actively mislead (omission remains possible).
  • Net 4+: The entity answers fully and cannot omit, the channel overrides its resistance.

This application is visible to all entities in Near range. Using it in a space with multiple liminal presences means all of them notice.

Scaling: Additional net successes past 4 allow follow-up questions or surface detail the entity didn't intend to share.

Quiet the Unquiet (Primary Action or Extended Work, Threshold 2–5)

Resolve the condition keeping a restless entity in place, allowing it to move on. This is not destruction or banishment; it is addressing the actual reason the entity hasn't continued. The Threshold reflects the complexity of what's unresolved:

  • Simple unfinished business (pass a message, acknowledge what happened): Threshold 2
  • Significant emotional wound (betrayal, grief, unanswered question): Threshold 3. Requires understanding what the entity needs and either providing it directly or facilitating it.
  • Deeply rooted or willfully refused continuation: Threshold 4. The entity doesn't want to go. Compelled continuation carries Backlash risk.
  • Ancient, massive, or structurally embedded haunting: Threshold 5+. May not be a single scene's work.

This application requires actually resolving the issue, not just rolling well. The roll reflects the practitioner's capacity to perceive what's needed and facilitate it.

Scaling: Excess successes surface additional clarity about what the entity needs, reducing the required Threshold for follow-up interactions.

Backlash:

  • Minor: The channel doesn't close cleanly. The entity or one of its connections leaves an impression in the practitioner's sensory field. Until Strain clears, they occasionally perceive the entity's specific emotional register overlaid on normal perception.
  • Moderate: The practitioner becomes a temporary anchor. The entity cannot move on, instead it attaches to the practitioner, follows them, and manifests when the practitioner is Strained. It will not depart until the underlying condition is addressed or the practitioner severs the connection through a Long Rest ritual.
  • Severe: Present tense collapses. The practitioner cannot reliably distinguish whether they are perceiving now or a death echo for 1D3 scenes. Each scene in this state, they must pass a Wit + Resolve Save vs Threshold 3 to take complex deliberate action (simple reactive actions, defense, and instinct are unaffected). Clears only with a Long Rest and a successful Mediumship roll at Threshold 3.