Soul partner abilities

Soul partners, in the most technical sense, are beings who share one-half (or in some cases one-third) of a single human soul. These human souls were split apart long ago by Helena and the Old Gods and scattered across earth. These soul fragments latched on to living beings: the cats of the Wasteland. Soul partners share the same soul shade. They share the same powers. But they also share so much more.

A connection between soul partners is not activated until a process called Soulrooting. Once two half-souls have correctly identified one another as their soul partner, an instantaneous connection is forged, and the pair (or trio) will then have access to a number of new abilities.

living soul partners

When both or all partners are alive for the Soulrooting process, their powers include the following:

SOUL LINK. Soul partners with a soul link share a mental, emotional, intellectual, and sensory connection. They are able to sense their soul partner’s emotions and feelings and sometimes, if the emotions are strong enough, begin feeling the same as their partner. Their mental bond means oftentimes they share thoughts--not specifically telepathy (like a mental phone call) but more the general thought-process or broad ideas. They may find themselves thinking or reasoning similarly to how their partner does, or drawing the same mental conclusions, or being able to determine the general “color” or mood of a partner’s thoughts without explicit words to go along with it. Soul partners also may be able to access one another’s knowledge--for example, if one soul partner knows a lot about herbs and healing, the other will be able to access the same knowledge if the need arises.

The sensory connection is also a very important part of a soul link, because it allows soul partners to access the sensory information their partner is feeling/gathering. This can mean that they can taste what their partner is tasting, see what they’re seeing, smell what they’re smelling, etc. This also means that soul partners feel each other’s physical pain--if one soul partner is gravely injured, it will most likely debilitate their soul partner as well because even if they have no physical injury, they feel the same pain as their partner. This can be a serious downside, because it means each soul partner becomes twice as vulnerable.

In essence, if you’ve ever seen the TV show Sense8, it’s a lot like how a cluster of sensates operates.

TELEPATHY. Apart from the general feelings, moods, and senses that soul partners share, they can also explicitly communicate telepathically, though this isn’t second-nature the way the soul link is. Telepathy takes intense concentration, increasingly so if the soul partners are physically far away. It also takes a lot of energy, and may leave the partners feeling exhausted or with a headache if used too frequently.

INCREASED POWER. Once the pieces of one soul are united, their power grows exponentially. Soul partners may suddenly feel limitless with their abilities, able to do amazing, powerful things they never could have done before. However, like with telepathy, this skill is dependent on physical distance--if soul partners are standing right next to each other, they can do more than if they were standing a hundred yards apart. They also might feel exceptionally drained and exhausted after extended use of these powers.

SOUL DREAMS. As your connection with your partner grows stronger, you and your partner find yourselves walking in the same dreams. The dreams take you to the starry realm, where you have to ability to view the globe of the earth as if from space. Here, you have the ability to affect the world on a larger, albeit slower, scale. (For example, if a green soul pair wanted to fix some air currents, they might only be able to nudge them in the right direction and guide it, but it might be weeks or months before the currents are actually fixed.)

Deceased soul partners

Unfortunately, many half-souls have been lost along the journey, leaving their partners behind. In this case, if the remaining partner’s Soulrooting is still successful, they are gifted with a physical embodiment of the lost soul-half, no longer tethered to a living being: a gemstone the color of your soul shade, with the soul essence trapped inside. This is a soulstone. This soulstone may be carried around as-is, or fashioned into any sort of jewelry to be worn by the soul partner.

For soul trios, soulstones work a little differently. Refer to the "Trio and Soulstone Specifications" section below for details.

Though they may not have a living soul partner, partnerless players still retain the following powers:

SOUL LINK AND TELEPATHY. Since they do not have a living partner with whom to share their connection, partnerless half-souls have a few different choices when it comes to their soulstones. They may carry their stone themself, increasing their power but cutting off any potential for a soul link. Alternatively, they can choose to either give their soulstone to another cat or exchange soulstones with another partnerless cat. When giving their soulstone to another cat, partnerless or not, the two may share a weaker version of the soul link and telepathy connection, wherein they are only able to share vague thoughts, feelings, and mental images. It is essentially a duller version of a true soul link, and the telepathy is limited to single words or simple phrases but still requires significant concentration. However, if two cats with soulstones exchange their stones, the connection strengthens, and they are able to experience the full range of soul partner abilities. These abilities work regardless of soul class and essentially allow partnerless characters to “choose” their own partners.

Note that, when a character gives away their soulstone without an exchange, the sensory connection is severely minimized, which means that characters linked would not be able to feel each other’s pain the way true soul-linked partners do.

When exchanging soulstones, the two half-souls experience the full range of soul partner abilities, with one significant difference; because their souls are not a perfect fit, each will still feel the absence of their deceased partner. Additionally, the connection is weakened if one cat is no longer holding the other’s stone and severed if both of them are no longer holding each other’s stones.

A soulstone exchange may only work between two characters.

INCREASED POWER. If and only if a partnerless soul chooses to carry their soulstone with them at all times, they are able to access their increased powers without the limitations of physical distance. More so, they can hold the power of two soul partners in a single form, and are thus considered more powerful as a single unit than one soul partner on their own.

SOUL MEMORIES. If and only if a partnerless soul is holding their stone, they may experience echoes of their deceased partner’s memories and emotions as if they are experiencing life through their eyes. Additionally, they may be able to access some of their skills. This ability does not work if another character is holding the stone.

In-Game advantages

Soulrooting and soulstones come with their own set of in-game advantages.

soul pair (both alive)

At the time of soulrooting: each player is allowed to permanently add 2 stat points to any stat(s) of their choosing (keeping in mind the max for any single stat is 10 points)
After soulrooting: When using their powers and standing within one foot (12 inches) of their soul partner, each player will have +1 bonus to add to any roll. This ability has unlimited uses.

Soul pair (one deceased)

At the time of soulrooting: the living player is gifted a soulstone, and is allowed to permanently add 3 stat points to any stat(s) of their choosing (keeping in mind the max for any single stat is 10 points)
After soulrooting: When using their powers and holding their soulstone, the player will have +2 bonus to add to any roll. This ability has unlimited uses.

Soul trio (all alive)

At the time of soulrooting: every player is allowed to permanently add 2 stat points to any stat(s) of their choosing (keeping in mind the max for any single stat is 10 points)
After soulrooting: When using their powers and standing within one foot (12 inches) of ONE of their soul partners, both players will have +1 bonus to add to any roll. When using their powers and standing within one foot (12 inches) of BOTH of their soul partners, each player will have a +2 bonus to add to any roll. This ability has unlimited uses.

Soul trio (one deceased)

At the time of soulrooting: the two living players are each gifted a soulstone, and both are allowed to permanently add 2 stat points to any stat(s) of their choosing (keeping in mind the max for any single stat is 10 points)
After soulrooting: When using their powers and standing within one foot (12 inches) of their living soul partner, each player will have +1 bonus to add to any roll. This ability has unlimited uses.

Soul trio (two deceased)

At the time of soulrooting: the one living player is gifted two identical soulstones, one for each lost partner, and is allowed to permanently add 3 stat points to any stat(s) of their choosing (keeping in mind the max for any single stat is 10 points)
After soulrooting: When using their powers and holding ONE soulstone, the player will have +2 bonus to add to any roll. When using their powers and holding BOTH soulstones, the player will have +3 bonus to add to any roll. This ability has unlimited uses.

trio and soulstone
specifications

SOUL TRIOS. Since soul trios are inherently different than soul pairs, there are some in-game abilities and game mechanics that need to be tweaked in order to accommodate trios and still make the game fair for everyone. Therefore, we've put together a few rules and restrictions regarding soul trios.

When soul trios soulroot, if two of the three players are still alive, both will be gifted a soulstone containing half of their deceased soul partner's essence. These "half-stones" do not have the same power as full soulstones, and therefore do not have the same abilities. These "half-stones" cannot be given to other players in order to establish a temporary soul-link, nor are they used for dice roll bonuses. Basically, these stones have no real in-game use and are simply decorative, and just for "flavor" so each remaining soul partner can still carry a token of their lost partner.

If only one player is still alive when a trio soulroots, that player is given two soulstones. The stones are identical, but only one of them can be given or exchanged at a time to establish a temporary soul-link. While both stones are still useful for dice roll bonuses, only one of the stones is truly "active" and useful as a tool for establishing a soul link. The other is merely decorative.

SOULSTONES. Soulstones themselves also have some separate rules and guidelines to go along with them as well. As we've expanded the worldbuilding of Paradise Rising, we've established further lore on soulstones and their appearance, uses, and lifecycles.

The specific color of the soulstone is up to the player who owns it, though it should be within the realm of the player's color (i.e., a red soul wouldn't have a blue stone).

At the beginning, soulstones are the default diamond shape. However, over time they may slowly change shape or appearance according to the influence of their owner (within reason and while still retaining the general size: able to be held in one paw).

In a living soulrooted pair, if one of the partners dies, a soulstone will be created in their place. This stone is functionally the same as any soulstones that were created at the time of soulrooting.

In a soulrooted trio with two living partners, if one of those partners dies, their original "half-stone" of their first deceased partner crumbles to dust, and it's energy is recaptured into the "half-stone" still carried by the other living partner, therefore making it a full soulstone. The newly deceased partner's soul fragment is then created into a new soulstone, as with a soulrooted pair.

If the last remaining cat in a pair or a trio dies, they are also created into a new soulstone. However, this stone is not the same as a full soulstone, and is now a deadstone (see below).

Soulstones with no remaining living partners to belong to become deadstones. Deadstones do not have the same uses as soulstones, though they retain the essence of their deceased owners. As they have no longer have a true "owner," deadstones can no longer change shape or appearance over time. Details on the uses of deadstones will be added at a later date.