SR5:Spirits:Shedim

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One of the strangest and most alien kinds of spirits that has ever been seen in the Sixth World is the shedim. Shedim are spirits that occupy the bodies of the deceased in order to anchor themselves in the physical world from whatever deep and distant metaplane serves as their home. Their very nature seems to defy identification, or any known expectations of spirit behavior. Prior to the arrival of shedim, all other spirits have viewed the physical plane as a place to escape, or as a breeding/feeding ground. Shedim have shown a desire to travel to the physical plane, though it is extremely difficult for them to stay there, but have also shown nothing but utter hatred for mortals. They come to where life exists so that they may extinguish it.

First observed during the Year of the Comet in 2061 during a magical surge of the now sealed Watergate Rift, their nature and abilities were unknown until they began to take possession of the bodies of the deceased. Just when the rest of the world had taken stock and developed some protections against this, a new type of shedim emerged: the master shedim. Whereas previous shedim appeared to be intellectually primitive entities filled with hate and violence, the master shedim exhibited a deep and malicious intelligence. Master shedim take possession of the recently deceased, just as all shedim, but the master shedim are able to access all of the memories and knowledge of the person whose body they now possess. This, combined with the fact that all master shedim are magicians and are able to summon other shedim via their Astral Gateway power, made them incredibly dangerous.

The scope of their plans was not fully realized until a key leader in the militant New Islamic Jihad was revealed to be a master shedim. Conflicts started by the NIJ cost thousands of lives, all under the direction of this malevolent entity. Clearly, the shedim orchestrated the conflict merely to instigate widespread death, and many fear what other carnage these beings might be planning.

Reported shedim activity has declined since the closing of the Watergate Rift. This, however, does not mean that the shedim have become any less dangerous. Indeed, there are worries that the lack of a link to their home plane is increasing the desperation of the shedim to find a new connection and bring more spirits over. And “desperate shedim” is a phrase to send a chill into the heart of any Sixth World resident. Many worry that the current relative silence is merely the eye of a storm set to grow more ferocious.