Golden Xan
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Mallius Odium
Immemorial
Ageless
OG 2020
Grim Scribe
Magus
Vampire Scholar
- Mar 30, 2019
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- 620
- 138
Hey everyone,
Some time ago I've compiled a list of stories and facts about the Banshee in the real world. I would like to now make a summary of everything I found and point out what could be availed specifically for DHS.
Gender
Banshees are always female. It's even in their name. If you want to be as faithful to the original lore as possible, you'd make the class gender-locked. I would not be against having a class that is exclusively related to one gender, especially if that was grounded in lore. However, I also do not see the reason why you'd limit yourself and others, as this game will need to have original content anyway.
Though Banshees are female, there are other Irish Death-messengers, some of which are male. For instance, undead coach drivers are often associated with impending death. It's the same concept, and they even share many similarities with the Banshees, except they are male only.
You could give them an Irish male name. Something like Fír Sí. Or Furshee, in a similar adaptation that Banshee went through with Bean Sí.
@Faceless Mike mentioned the Man of the Mist as well (rings a bell? I talked about the Hag of the Mist before). Those could all serve as inspiration for a male version of the Banshee.
Color Palette
Good colors to use in the Banshee's visual are: Red, Black, Brown, Gold, White and Grey. Green, Blue and Yellow should be avoided.
Sounds & Patterns
Sounds commonly associated with the Banshee are that of exotic animals, or animals that hunt in the night and which makes strenuous sounds very much unlike others. Example: the mating of cats and foxes.
Their cries are also associated with the professional keeners, women who were hired to weep in funerals to create an emotional setting.
As for patterns, the Banshee's is known for having an unnatural capacity to continuously make her noises without stopping to breathe. If you want to make it convincing, make sounds that vary in pitch and loudness in waves, uninterrupted, especially during chants.
As for words used to describe her screams, they are: cry, gol, wail, lament, keen, moan, roar, scream, shriek, screech and call. Not that you'd have to restrict yourself on using those.
There is also a special relationship between the Banshee's sounds and the people who will die. Sometimes, the person who is going to die cannot hear (or see) the Banshee at all, only those related to that person or those who are nearby. In rare occasions, it is the opposite: only those marked to die can hear her.
The Banshee is often not even seen, only heard, and the sound can travel long distances very fast, indicating that the Banshee can also teleport, move very fast, or control the way her voice manifests.
Her screams can also travel long distances by moving through water, especially accompanying the flor in rivers.
The Banshee's cries provoke intense sensations in people, such as giving them shivers, cold sweats and profound fear.
Animals are also known to avoid locations where they heard Banshee screams for the rest of their lives. They also run away from the Banshee's screams when they hear them.
The Banshee's chanting cannot be understood by humans, they sound like another language entirely. That can be justified by its lore in-game, explained bellow in the Origins section.
Appearance
Banshees' looks vary greatly. They have been described as being tall, short, old, young, beautiful and ugly. They are most commonly identified as small women of no particular beauty or ugliness.
Something invariable, however, is extremely long hair, practically unnaturally so. Their skin is pale. They are often not identified as being unnatural until it is too late for those who approached her.
This opens up many customization possibilities for players.
Clothing
Clothing varies a lot according to the overall appearance and age of the Banshee. They are often seen using cloaks, dresses, capes and shawls, all long and covering most of her body. They are also often barefooted.
If the Banshee is perceived to be beautiful, she often has hairpins and other ornaments to maintain her hair in intricate hairstyles. She may also wear adornments such as bracelets, necklaces, etc.
Objects - Phylacteries
The objects commonly associated to the Banshee are combs, washing beetles, and to a smaller extent other people's clothing, mainly shirts. But shirts are hardly phylactery material.
In some older Banshee tales, they've also been seen using musical instruments--which can be smartly associated to her chanting.
I suspect you might be able somehow use those items, particularly the first two, as potential Phylacteries. Since every undead has a Phylactery, it makes sense that her's are associated to her lore. However, if Phylacteries have powers themselves, I'm unsure as to what she would be able to do from inside a comb or a washing beetle.
In regards to those objects, it is clear that people feel a supernatural attraction to them when they see it and they feel compelled to take them. By taking the object, the Banshee becomes attached to them until the object is returned, and she will continuously haunt the possessor of the object. You could potentially make a mechanism where the player attracts individuals nearby and force them to fight over the item. After someone attains the object, the Banshee haunts the person with death omens and apparitions until their fear fuels her return to the Ethereal state, at which point she can take the object from them. Just a thought.
Mana Type
I've previously speculated the Banshee would use Souls as her mana type, but I have since changed my mind and swapped the Wraith's mana type with the Banshee's. That is, I believe that Fear is an "element" much more closely associated to her lore than the Wraith's.
In Banshee lore, the Banshee is a being treated mostly with respect precisely because people don't want to mess with death. They fear her. They try to protect themselves against her by avoiding her, or not touching her if contact is necessary. Her screams chill people, and they know that death is coming. It makes sense that the Banshee can manipulate people's emotions in some way, if it isn't the essence of her powers themselves.
Sex and Romance
Banshees have never been associated with lust, desire, or love, even when they are beautiful. This is likely because they are associated with death, which is... somewhat of a turn off. So it wouldn't make sense to give her "sexy" or revealing clothes and mannerisms, nor make individually alluring Banshees.
Death Omens
The Banshee is an omen of death herself. But there are numerous events that are considered omens of death, some of them which are very, very ancient, and they are also related to her (since both mean the same things).
Some of them are: knocks on doors/walls, the whistling of the wind, crows, exotic animals showing up in environments they are not typically seen in, and the ringing of bells.
It would make sense to have some of those events associated with her powers. Before I wrote the Lore Sources & Facts post, I was writing a list of power suggestions for her similar to the Revenant Magickal & Essential Skills post. In that now deleted post, I used those events in fear-inducing skills that amplify her strengths or allow her to use more complex powers.
Association With Water and Darkness
At first, I thought Banshees were associated with mists. But more specifically, they are actually associated with water.
Banshees are seen often near or on rivers, and even when they show up on land they are still close to streams, rivers or lakes. They also have water-manipulating powers in older tales, particularly of powerful Banshee individuals. Water is believed to be a portal, just like some other particular landscape features, particularly to the Otherworld (explained below).
In Scottish tales, you have variants of the Banshee that manipulate mists specifically. Perhaps this can lead to a specialization of powers in DHS.
Also, the Banshee is not commonly seen or heard in daylight at all, only in dark places, or dusk. Mist may explain being in a darker environment during daytime.
The Banshee also will not enter buildings for some reason in the lore... but I recommend scrapping that, as there is little to back the origins of this concept and it is not very practical for a game.
Origins
I've heard, and to some extent thought, that the Banshee was a spirit in grief, which anchored their soul from heartbroke. This is not the case.
In the established lore, the origins of the Banshee are unclear, but the most common belief is that the Banshee is the ghost or spirit of a once living woman. Because of the supposed association of Banshees with families, people seem to think they are ancient dead members of those families. But according to Patricia Lysaght's extensive research, if you track this even further in the past you will likely find a link between ancient individual women who were actually tied to a land. A nation. As protectors of a land, they were married (then becoming a member of the family) or otherwise associated with male individuals that protected those lands and nations, and those guys were typically royalty, such as kings. Kings have to protect their kingdom. Thus, the Banshees followed them after death because they were still looking after the nation, not the family itself, but the duty of protecting the kingdom, which would pass on from generation to generation and so would the reason for the Banshee to follow them. The families the Banshees were associated with likely would have ties to ancient royal families, "True Irish" as some have put it. Still, when one of them would die, she could feel grief over the loss for the nation, for her duty, and that's why she weeps.
More than that, some of the Banshee's concepts also come from Celtic mythology, particularly that of war goddesses and sorceress. It is possible to infer to some extent that prominent individuals in life were immortalized in tales of divinity and power. Maybe because they really were great, in multiple ways.
Also, without going into detail about the etymology or the origins of the word "Banshee", it basically means "Woman of the Otherworld." Not fairy woman. The Otherworld is the realm of the undead, but a particular realm where the Banshees live in (supposedly only them, but that's unclear). The reason why people cannot understand what they say is because they speak in the language of the dead, and regular humans cannot understand that language.
Where does that take us in Deadhaus?
I recommend making adaptations to those concepts in order to make something inspired by the lore, yet be unique and fitting on its own.
For starters, I recommend associating Banshees (and their male counterparts) with duty. Duty of any kind, but particularly of serving others, or concepts. If this is the case, and the Undead are "evil", it could be interpreted that something went wrong in this job, such as failing, or going against it.
I would also consider associating magick during life with being or becoming a Banshee in unlife.
Definitely, make use of the concept of the Otherworld, perhaps even for creating a Banshee-exclusive society or faction. Maybe a special location.
It's hard to talk about more than that because there is little information about the classes in DHS revealed.
Gameplay-wise, from everything I've read and researched on the Banshee, she is supposed to be a magician of some kind that manipulate people's emotions and haunts them, executing devastating attacks after a period of haunting.
Story-wise, I believe she might have been a powerful individual in life, either politically, magickally, or both, that was magickally attached to a duty or role. Then, she either failed in her duties or acted against them, and suffered for it so much that her soul was punishingly sent to the Otherworld, where she converted and stayed there to continue to serve and redeem herself, or continuously act against the very thing she was sworn to protect.
Alternatively, Banshees might have traded their souls for power and influence with Elder Gods or Great Old Ones. And after they die, they are corrupted to serve another power, possibly contrary to the very things she hoped to protect or gain in life. Maybe instead of power and influence they asked for a result in life, such as protecting someone else's soul in exchange for their own, but now they pay the price in eternity.
Banshees are also not perceived as being evil at all. It just happens they are dangerous and messing with them will bring "bad luck"--death. That may reinforce the fact that they are what they are, in undeath, because they are forced to be. But it doesn't need to be this way, I believe it makes sense for there to be some evil Banshees.
Weaknesses
In lore, there are only two things I've identified that made Banshees "vulnerable" or which created obstacles for them. Heated iron and having her comb stolen.
The comb forces her to haunt the person. As I mentioned before, I think this is appropriate for the phylactery/Contained state gameplay.
Heat isn't know for hurting the Banshee, but it is considered a way of protecting against the supernatural in general. However, it's used somewhat frequently against her when giving back her comb. Maybe there can be related mechanisms in the game.
Powers & Specializations
From everything I read, it's clear the Banshee has a few peculiar powers:
- Chanting and screaming
- Water manipulation (mist in variants)
- Teleportation or very fast movement
- Invisibility
- Manifestation/control of death omens
- Precognition
When working on powers, I would look to those concepts for inspiration.
For specializations, taking trinary systems or pillars in consideration, I'd consider a specialization on chanting/singing, death omens, and maybe... I'm in doubt about the last one, but probably precognition. Water, invisibility and teleportation powers could be either neutral or staple powers. Maybe related to her alignment instead.
This is merely a summary of everything I found when looking for information on the Banshee, especially in regards to Patricia Lysaght's research. I've separated it in categories so it gets easier for developers to find the information they are looking for. This is somewhat bare, but the Lore Sources & Facts post is still available for a deeper look, if necessary.
Some time ago I've compiled a list of stories and facts about the Banshee in the real world. I would like to now make a summary of everything I found and point out what could be availed specifically for DHS.
Gender
Banshees are always female. It's even in their name. If you want to be as faithful to the original lore as possible, you'd make the class gender-locked. I would not be against having a class that is exclusively related to one gender, especially if that was grounded in lore. However, I also do not see the reason why you'd limit yourself and others, as this game will need to have original content anyway.
Though Banshees are female, there are other Irish Death-messengers, some of which are male. For instance, undead coach drivers are often associated with impending death. It's the same concept, and they even share many similarities with the Banshees, except they are male only.
You could give them an Irish male name. Something like Fír Sí. Or Furshee, in a similar adaptation that Banshee went through with Bean Sí.
@Faceless Mike mentioned the Man of the Mist as well (rings a bell? I talked about the Hag of the Mist before). Those could all serve as inspiration for a male version of the Banshee.
Color Palette
Good colors to use in the Banshee's visual are: Red, Black, Brown, Gold, White and Grey. Green, Blue and Yellow should be avoided.
Sounds & Patterns
Sounds commonly associated with the Banshee are that of exotic animals, or animals that hunt in the night and which makes strenuous sounds very much unlike others. Example: the mating of cats and foxes.
Their cries are also associated with the professional keeners, women who were hired to weep in funerals to create an emotional setting.
As for patterns, the Banshee's is known for having an unnatural capacity to continuously make her noises without stopping to breathe. If you want to make it convincing, make sounds that vary in pitch and loudness in waves, uninterrupted, especially during chants.
As for words used to describe her screams, they are: cry, gol, wail, lament, keen, moan, roar, scream, shriek, screech and call. Not that you'd have to restrict yourself on using those.
There is also a special relationship between the Banshee's sounds and the people who will die. Sometimes, the person who is going to die cannot hear (or see) the Banshee at all, only those related to that person or those who are nearby. In rare occasions, it is the opposite: only those marked to die can hear her.
The Banshee is often not even seen, only heard, and the sound can travel long distances very fast, indicating that the Banshee can also teleport, move very fast, or control the way her voice manifests.
Her screams can also travel long distances by moving through water, especially accompanying the flor in rivers.
The Banshee's cries provoke intense sensations in people, such as giving them shivers, cold sweats and profound fear.
Animals are also known to avoid locations where they heard Banshee screams for the rest of their lives. They also run away from the Banshee's screams when they hear them.
The Banshee's chanting cannot be understood by humans, they sound like another language entirely. That can be justified by its lore in-game, explained bellow in the Origins section.
Appearance
Banshees' looks vary greatly. They have been described as being tall, short, old, young, beautiful and ugly. They are most commonly identified as small women of no particular beauty or ugliness.
Something invariable, however, is extremely long hair, practically unnaturally so. Their skin is pale. They are often not identified as being unnatural until it is too late for those who approached her.
This opens up many customization possibilities for players.
Clothing
Clothing varies a lot according to the overall appearance and age of the Banshee. They are often seen using cloaks, dresses, capes and shawls, all long and covering most of her body. They are also often barefooted.
If the Banshee is perceived to be beautiful, she often has hairpins and other ornaments to maintain her hair in intricate hairstyles. She may also wear adornments such as bracelets, necklaces, etc.
Objects - Phylacteries
The objects commonly associated to the Banshee are combs, washing beetles, and to a smaller extent other people's clothing, mainly shirts. But shirts are hardly phylactery material.
In some older Banshee tales, they've also been seen using musical instruments--which can be smartly associated to her chanting.
I suspect you might be able somehow use those items, particularly the first two, as potential Phylacteries. Since every undead has a Phylactery, it makes sense that her's are associated to her lore. However, if Phylacteries have powers themselves, I'm unsure as to what she would be able to do from inside a comb or a washing beetle.
In regards to those objects, it is clear that people feel a supernatural attraction to them when they see it and they feel compelled to take them. By taking the object, the Banshee becomes attached to them until the object is returned, and she will continuously haunt the possessor of the object. You could potentially make a mechanism where the player attracts individuals nearby and force them to fight over the item. After someone attains the object, the Banshee haunts the person with death omens and apparitions until their fear fuels her return to the Ethereal state, at which point she can take the object from them. Just a thought.
Mana Type
I've previously speculated the Banshee would use Souls as her mana type, but I have since changed my mind and swapped the Wraith's mana type with the Banshee's. That is, I believe that Fear is an "element" much more closely associated to her lore than the Wraith's.
In Banshee lore, the Banshee is a being treated mostly with respect precisely because people don't want to mess with death. They fear her. They try to protect themselves against her by avoiding her, or not touching her if contact is necessary. Her screams chill people, and they know that death is coming. It makes sense that the Banshee can manipulate people's emotions in some way, if it isn't the essence of her powers themselves.
Sex and Romance
Banshees have never been associated with lust, desire, or love, even when they are beautiful. This is likely because they are associated with death, which is... somewhat of a turn off. So it wouldn't make sense to give her "sexy" or revealing clothes and mannerisms, nor make individually alluring Banshees.
Death Omens
The Banshee is an omen of death herself. But there are numerous events that are considered omens of death, some of them which are very, very ancient, and they are also related to her (since both mean the same things).
Some of them are: knocks on doors/walls, the whistling of the wind, crows, exotic animals showing up in environments they are not typically seen in, and the ringing of bells.
It would make sense to have some of those events associated with her powers. Before I wrote the Lore Sources & Facts post, I was writing a list of power suggestions for her similar to the Revenant Magickal & Essential Skills post. In that now deleted post, I used those events in fear-inducing skills that amplify her strengths or allow her to use more complex powers.
Association With Water and Darkness
At first, I thought Banshees were associated with mists. But more specifically, they are actually associated with water.
Banshees are seen often near or on rivers, and even when they show up on land they are still close to streams, rivers or lakes. They also have water-manipulating powers in older tales, particularly of powerful Banshee individuals. Water is believed to be a portal, just like some other particular landscape features, particularly to the Otherworld (explained below).
In Scottish tales, you have variants of the Banshee that manipulate mists specifically. Perhaps this can lead to a specialization of powers in DHS.
Also, the Banshee is not commonly seen or heard in daylight at all, only in dark places, or dusk. Mist may explain being in a darker environment during daytime.
The Banshee also will not enter buildings for some reason in the lore... but I recommend scrapping that, as there is little to back the origins of this concept and it is not very practical for a game.
Origins
I've heard, and to some extent thought, that the Banshee was a spirit in grief, which anchored their soul from heartbroke. This is not the case.
In the established lore, the origins of the Banshee are unclear, but the most common belief is that the Banshee is the ghost or spirit of a once living woman. Because of the supposed association of Banshees with families, people seem to think they are ancient dead members of those families. But according to Patricia Lysaght's extensive research, if you track this even further in the past you will likely find a link between ancient individual women who were actually tied to a land. A nation. As protectors of a land, they were married (then becoming a member of the family) or otherwise associated with male individuals that protected those lands and nations, and those guys were typically royalty, such as kings. Kings have to protect their kingdom. Thus, the Banshees followed them after death because they were still looking after the nation, not the family itself, but the duty of protecting the kingdom, which would pass on from generation to generation and so would the reason for the Banshee to follow them. The families the Banshees were associated with likely would have ties to ancient royal families, "True Irish" as some have put it. Still, when one of them would die, she could feel grief over the loss for the nation, for her duty, and that's why she weeps.
More than that, some of the Banshee's concepts also come from Celtic mythology, particularly that of war goddesses and sorceress. It is possible to infer to some extent that prominent individuals in life were immortalized in tales of divinity and power. Maybe because they really were great, in multiple ways.
Also, without going into detail about the etymology or the origins of the word "Banshee", it basically means "Woman of the Otherworld." Not fairy woman. The Otherworld is the realm of the undead, but a particular realm where the Banshees live in (supposedly only them, but that's unclear). The reason why people cannot understand what they say is because they speak in the language of the dead, and regular humans cannot understand that language.
Where does that take us in Deadhaus?
I recommend making adaptations to those concepts in order to make something inspired by the lore, yet be unique and fitting on its own.
For starters, I recommend associating Banshees (and their male counterparts) with duty. Duty of any kind, but particularly of serving others, or concepts. If this is the case, and the Undead are "evil", it could be interpreted that something went wrong in this job, such as failing, or going against it.
I would also consider associating magick during life with being or becoming a Banshee in unlife.
Definitely, make use of the concept of the Otherworld, perhaps even for creating a Banshee-exclusive society or faction. Maybe a special location.
It's hard to talk about more than that because there is little information about the classes in DHS revealed.
Gameplay-wise, from everything I've read and researched on the Banshee, she is supposed to be a magician of some kind that manipulate people's emotions and haunts them, executing devastating attacks after a period of haunting.
Story-wise, I believe she might have been a powerful individual in life, either politically, magickally, or both, that was magickally attached to a duty or role. Then, she either failed in her duties or acted against them, and suffered for it so much that her soul was punishingly sent to the Otherworld, where she converted and stayed there to continue to serve and redeem herself, or continuously act against the very thing she was sworn to protect.
Alternatively, Banshees might have traded their souls for power and influence with Elder Gods or Great Old Ones. And after they die, they are corrupted to serve another power, possibly contrary to the very things she hoped to protect or gain in life. Maybe instead of power and influence they asked for a result in life, such as protecting someone else's soul in exchange for their own, but now they pay the price in eternity.
Banshees are also not perceived as being evil at all. It just happens they are dangerous and messing with them will bring "bad luck"--death. That may reinforce the fact that they are what they are, in undeath, because they are forced to be. But it doesn't need to be this way, I believe it makes sense for there to be some evil Banshees.
Weaknesses
In lore, there are only two things I've identified that made Banshees "vulnerable" or which created obstacles for them. Heated iron and having her comb stolen.
The comb forces her to haunt the person. As I mentioned before, I think this is appropriate for the phylactery/Contained state gameplay.
Heat isn't know for hurting the Banshee, but it is considered a way of protecting against the supernatural in general. However, it's used somewhat frequently against her when giving back her comb. Maybe there can be related mechanisms in the game.
Powers & Specializations
From everything I read, it's clear the Banshee has a few peculiar powers:
- Chanting and screaming
- Water manipulation (mist in variants)
- Teleportation or very fast movement
- Invisibility
- Manifestation/control of death omens
- Precognition
When working on powers, I would look to those concepts for inspiration.
For specializations, taking trinary systems or pillars in consideration, I'd consider a specialization on chanting/singing, death omens, and maybe... I'm in doubt about the last one, but probably precognition. Water, invisibility and teleportation powers could be either neutral or staple powers. Maybe related to her alignment instead.
----------------------------------------------------------
This is merely a summary of everything I found when looking for information on the Banshee, especially in regards to Patricia Lysaght's research. I've separated it in categories so it gets easier for developers to find the information they are looking for. This is somewhat bare, but the Lore Sources & Facts post is still available for a deeper look, if necessary.
