Players Guide

Ghosts of Savannah draws from cosmic horror, a genre shaped by writers like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert W. Chambers.

Their stories focus on a simple idea:

The universe is vast, unknowable, and does not care about human understanding.

What that means...

• Not everything has answers.

• Not everything can be understood.

• One of the core themes is this: 

  • • • There are no heroes, only survivors.

• Cosmic horror is rooted in existential dread, the quiet realization that something larger exists, and it may already be watching.

What that means in play...

• The world does not always behave logically

• Knowledge can come at a cost

• Some truths can change you just by understanding them

• The deeper you dig, the less certain things become

Savannah is not just haunted. It is layered with things that were never meant to be understood.

• Leaders, communal houses, and sensitive storylines are confidential.

• New arrivals are welcome, but not automatically trusted.

• Sharing sensitive group info without IC permission can have IC consequences.

• Supernaturals are generally private about what they are. Loose lips can get people hunted.

  • • If you intentionally break the Shroud or fail to bring yourself to the attention of the local supernatural leadership there could be consequences and need to be understood and accepted. 

    • Understand that failure to maintain secrecy may be interpreted in-character as hostile, reckless, or disrespectful to the established system

If you want to be a diplomat/welcome committee, speak to your race leaders first.

Savannah is full of stories.

As you move through the city you may come across IC notices, objects that offer notecards, rumors whispered between characters, or strange happenings tied to the sim-wide story. These are meant to be invitations to roleplay. Little doors that players can open if they are curious.

You are never required to participate in these stories. They are simply opportunities waiting to be discovered.

Some players may glance at a rumor and move on. Others might gather friends, investigate it, and see where the mystery leads. Both approaches are completely valid. The goal is to give players interesting things to interact with while allowing each group to decide how important those moments become within their own stories.

Most of these hooks are designed to feel a bit like a guided mystery or a “choose your own adventure.” The notecards that accompany them often include suggestions for what your character might notice, feel, or uncover. These are not rigid outcomes. Think of them more as inspiration meant to spark ideas and help a scene take shape.

Teamwork

Many of these stories become far richer when explored together. You may find that a situation calls for someone with knowledge of the occult, someone good at investigation, or perhaps someone simply brave enough to push a little deeper into the unknown. The hope is that these moments encourage players to pull others into their scenes and build stories together.

Occasionally a story may lead to something more intense. A restless spirit. A supernatural disturbance. A confrontation with something that does not belong in the world. When scenes begin to move in that direction, staff are always happy to help guide the moment. We can step in as storytellers, play supporting NPC roles, or help shape the atmosphere so the scene feels richer and more immersive.

Some players enjoy using dice and skills during these moments, while others prefer purely narrative roleplay. Both approaches are welcome here. The system exists as a tool for those who like it, but the heart of the sim is always collaborative storytelling and fair play.

From time to time, after a group explores one of these hooks, staff may share a small follow up note. These moments help expand the story by revealing additional context, hinting at consequences, or opening new directions if players want to continue digging deeper.

Digging Deeper

If you ever find something intriguing and want to explore it further, do not hesitate to reach out. We are always happy to help expand a mystery, provide additional lore, or help guide a scene if players want to take it somewhere unexpected.

In the end, the stories of Ghosts of Savannah do not belong to staff alone.

They belong to the characters who walk its streets, uncover its secrets, and decide which mysteries are worth chasing into the dark.

Savannah’s history is layered, every era added something to its rich history, and none of it ever left.

• Pre-1733 - Sacred Land - The area is spiritually active, marked by ley lines, burial grounds, and Indigenous ceremonial sites.

• 1733–1740 - City & Magic Take Shape - Savannah is founded on a Freemason grid; Solomon’s Lodge forms, witches gather, and telluric experimentation begins.

• Late 1700s - Power Begins to Form - Vampire elites rise, Gullah Geechee traditions merge with witchcraft, and the city’s spiritual identity deepens.

• 1805 - White Claws Founded - A dominant shifter faction claims the river and marshlands, establishing territorial control.

• 1810 - Temoin Unified - Mother Inez brings witches together under a shared purpose of balance, secrecy, and spirit work.

• 1812 - Southern Court Established - Noble Jone forms the vampire Court, tying it to Savannah’s aristocracy and long-term power.

• 1820 - The Turning Point - Yellow fever creates Moras; the Pax is formed between vampires, shifters, and  witches to prevent war.

• 1840 - Keepers of the River Formed - Native shifters rise to protect sacred land and counter growing imbalance.

• 1853–1857 - Rowan Rises - A mysterious figure enters the Court and is named heir, disrupting the old guard.

• 1863–1867 - War & Aftermath - Civil War chaos empowers the Strix; the Court shifts; the Ebon forms to maintain balance.

• 1912–1913 - Government & Carcosa - The Lantern Office forms; the King in Yellow incident triggers madness and a lasting breach.

• 1920s–1932 - New Blood & Accord - Chimeras and modern vampires arrive; the Crescent Accord stabilizes shifter factions.

• 1951–1958 -  Organized Response & Fallout - The Watch forms; the Tybee bomb disrupts ley lines, increasing ferals and instability.

• 1965–1975 - Cultural Shift - Newcomers join the Court; SCAD transforms the city, drawing new supernaturals.

• 1970s–1990s - Pressure Builds - Faction tensions rise, the Ebon fractures, but open conflict is held back.

• 2005 - The Breach - A catastrophic Veil rupture changes everything; trust between factions begins to break.

• 2020 - Fire & Fear - Eastern Wharf burns; isolation and unrest fuel supernatural imbalance.

• 2025 -Present Day - The Veil is weakening. Banes are rising. The city is close to something breaking.

->A timeline and deeper history of the city can be found here<-

The Shroud (The Big Rule) - All characters

The Shroud is the unspoken law that keeps the supernatural hidden from the wider world, enforced through secrecy, misdirection, and selective silence. All who walk Savannah’s streets benefit from it, whether they uphold it, exploit it, or quietly test its limits. 

• The Shroud is common knowledge among supernaturals around the world, regardless of origin.

• Disregard for the Shroud is a serious matter and will have in-character consequences if discovered or impacts the supernatural ecosystem on the city.

• If you intentionally break the Shroud or fail to bring yourself to the attention of the local supernatural leadership there could be consequences and need to be understood and accepted. 

Why this matters to your character 

• Your actions can strengthen the Shroud, strain it, or tear holes in it, shaping how safe or dangerous the city becomes for everyone.

The Pax (1820) - Supernaturals

The Pax is the fragile peace forged between Savannah’s supernatural factions (vampires, Shifters and Witches), designed to prevent open conflict and maintain balance within the city. It binds supernaturals to restraint, compromise, and the understanding that survival often depends on cooperation rather than dominance.

Forged at Wormsloe by:

• Noble Jones (Vampires)

• James Jackson (White Claws)

• Mother Inez (Temoin)

Why this matters to your character 

• Breaking the Pax carries consequences, while honoring it grants protection, leverage, and political weight within the supernatural community.

The Ebon  - Witches and Gifted Humans

The Ebon is a shadow alliance of witches and Gifted humans who operate where law, magic, and necessity intersect. Dedicated to protecting humanity from supernatural excess while preserving dangerous knowledge, its members walk a narrow line between stewardship and secrecy.

Founded by:

• Dr. Elias Thorne

• Mother Inez

• Captain Silas Crane

Later history:

• Allied with the Lantern Office.

• In the 1980s, nearly destroyed by the Black Lantern Division (BLD).

Why this matters to your character

• Involvement with the Ebon offers access to forbidden knowledge and quiet influence but at the potential cost of scrutiny, moral compromise, and lingering suspicion.

->Read here more about the Supernatural Power and Influence in Savannah<-

Government Agencies

Lantern Office 1912 → FBI 1924

• Created under Theodore Roosevelt (1912).

• Publicly denies supernaturals; secretly studies and hunts them.

• Monitors veil breaches and supernatural activity. 

• eventually evolved into the the FBI   

Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) 1972 - Branch of the FBI

• Publicly profiles serial killers.

• Secretly profiles supernatural behavior and breaches in the Veil.    

Black Lantern (BLD) 1983 - Branch of the FBI

• The BLD objective was containment and elimination of non-human entities

• This provoked an end to the collaboration between the Ebon and the BSU

What they control:

• Surveillance and investigation

• Cover-ups and containment

• Hunting and neutralization

How they operate:

• Quiet. Patient. Dangerous.

If things get too visible… they step in

Ghosts (NPC)

Ghosts are the lingering dead bound to Savannah through trauma, unfinished purpose, or emotional imprint. Most are harmless, but some become dangerous when disturbed, empowered, or consumed by obsession.

• Echoes Imprinted on the City
  Savannah functions like a spiritual recording medium. Strong emotions, violence, grief, and tragedy can leave impressions that persist long after death.

• Not All Ghosts Are Self Aware
  Some spirits endlessly repeat fragments of their final moments, while others remain intelligent, aware, and capable of interaction with the living world.

• The Veil Shapes Their Presence
  Ghost activity increases when the Veil weakens. Areas heavy with death, history, or Telluric pressure tend to attract and sustain manifestations.

• Emotion and Obsession Sustain Them
  Many ghosts remain tied to a person, object, place, or unresolved event. The stronger the attachment, the stronger the manifestation may become.

• Some Become Dangerous
  While many spirits are passive or confused, others grow hostile over time, especially those warped by Taint, Carcosa, or prolonged isolation from the natural cycle of death.

Mora (Feral vampires)

Mora are feral, starved vampires consumed by hunger and taint. If you encounter one, do not engage alone. 

• • • Starved Vampires, Not a Separate Species
      The Mora are vampires driven into a feral state through prolonged deprivation of blood. They are not born this way but created through neglect, imprisonment, or abandonment.

    • Physically Degraded and Unstable
      Their bodies wither and distort over time. Skin tightens, movement becomes erratic, and their presence feels wrong, as if the Telluric flow within them has collapsed inward.

    • Mind Lost to Hunger and Taint
      Higher thought is largely gone. What remains is instinct, hunger, and fragments of memory. Taint saturates them, making them volatile and difficult to cleanse or recover.

    • Tied to Death and Improper Burials
      Many Mora originated during events like Yellow Fever epidemics, where victims were buried quickly or incorrectly, rising again without guidance, feeding, or release.

    • Predatory and Contagious Threat
      They lurk in forgotten spaces such as crypts, tunnels, and mass graves. Encounters are dangerous, as they attack without restraint and can spread their condition through uncontrolled feeding.

Anuruk (Feral shifters)

The Anuruk is a corrupted, feral guardian tied to mass graves—do not engage it alone.

• • • Manifestation of Taint and Broken Death
      The Aniruk is not simply a creature but the result of taint saturating a being tied to unresolved death and violated spiritual balance.

    • Guardian Turned Abomination
      Often bound to mass graves or sacred sites, it originates from a role meant to protect or watch over the dead, twisted into something hostile.

    • Fusion of Beast, Spirit, and Land
      It exists between states, part physical predator, part spiritual entity, and part extension of the land’s corrupted Telluric flow.

    • Driven by Rage, Hunger, and Disruption
      It is not mindless. It reacts to imbalance, intrusion, and the disturbance of what was denied proper rest, lashing out with purpose and fury.

    • Unstoppable Without Restoration of Balance
      It cannot be killed in a conventional sense. The only true way to end it is to resolve the underlying wrongs, release the bound spirits, and restore the flow of the land.

Boo Hags (Feral witches)

Boo Hags are calculated and subtle, if one targets you, you won’t notice until it’s ready to finish you. 

• Skin-Stealing Predators 

Boo Hags are entities that shed their own skin and wear the bodies of others to move undetected among the living.

• Feed on Breath and Vitality 

They sustain themselves by “riding” victims at night, draining breath, energy, and life force while the victim sleeps.

• Deceptive and Socially Embedded

They often pass as ordinary people, integrating into communities and hiding in plain sight until they feed.

• Physical Form is Withered and Hidden

Without a stolen skin, their true form is gaunt, unnatural, and rarely seen.

• Rooted in Gullah Folklore

Their presence ties directly to regional spiritual traditions and carries cultural weight within the coastal South.

Banes 

Banes don’t attack outright, they get inside you, and by the time you notice, it’s already too late. 

• • • Manifestations of Corruption

Banes are entities formed from concentrated taint, feeding on decay, suffering, and warped Telluric energy.

• • • Agents of Withering and Decay

They erode the mind, body, and spirit, spreading corruption into people, places, and the land itself.

• • • Influencers Rather Than Brutes

They rarely act directly at first, preferring to manipulate, infect, and weaken targets over time.

• • • Drawn to Weakness and Exposure

Areas of heavy trauma, unresolved history, or individuals carrying high taint attract them.

• • • Tied to Greater Cosmic Forces

They often serve as extensions of deeper corruption aligned with forces like Hastur and the Pallid 

Cryptids

Cryptids are unpredictable, treat every encounter as dangerous until proven otherwise.

• • • Unknown or Unclassified Creatures

Cryptids are beings that don’t fit cleanly into known supernatural categories like shifters, spirits, or vampires.

• • • Physical and Often Animalistic

Most have a tangible, biological presence, though some exhibit unnatural traits tied to Telluric anomalies.

• • • Territorial and Instinct-Driven

They operate on instinct rather than higher reasoning, often defending territory or reacting to disruption.

• • • Products of Anomalies or Old Forces

Many are born from environmental shifts, breaches, or remnants of older, forgotten aspects of the land.

• • • Unpredictable Threat Level

Some avoid humans entirely, while others are highly dangerous depending on proximity, provocation, or hunger.

Abominations (Corrupted Entities)

Abominations are beings twisted beyond their original nature through extreme Taint corruption, failed transformations, forbidden rituals, or prolonged exposure to breaches in the Veil. They are unstable, unnatural, and often barely recognizable as what they once were. 

• • • Created Through Corruption

Abominations are not a natural species. They are formed when a person, supernatural, or creature is altered beyond recovery by Telluric imbalance, Carcosa, or ritual experimentation.

• • • Reality Feels Wrong Around Them

Their forms are often distorted, inconsistent, or physically impossible. Some appear partially human while others seem fused with shadow, flesh, bone, or shifting organic matter.

• • • Driven by Instinct, Obsession, or Madness

Many Abominations lose their original identity over time. What remains is usually hunger, rage, compulsion, territorial behavior, or fixation on a singular purpose.

• • • Closely Tied to Veil Breaches and Taint

They are most commonly encountered near corrupted locations, failed rituals, Carcosan influence, or areas where Telluric pressure has destabilized reality.

• • • Highly Dangerous and Unpredictable

No two Abominations are exactly alike. Some stalk quietly, others lash out violently, and some possess abilities that defy normal supernatural understanding. Encounters should be treated as extreme threats.