Soul Shield

Soul Shield – A Soul Shield is any item carried on or near an entity capable of defending the user's Soul/ ethereal form various extracting, afflicting, and damaging effects. A Soul Shield can be as small as a ring, or as large as a piece of armor (size will vary with crafter skill). A Soul Shield differs from other types of shields and barriers such as the Aegis Shield such that, even after death, so long as the item is in the user's possession, they will be defended. Additionally, Soul Shields do not consume large amounts of energy and are capable of lasting for centuries or longer without deteriorating effects.

The strength of a Soul Shield is dependent on the skill of the crafter, the type of materials used, and the concentration of energies. Arcane, Holy Light, Nature, and even Shadow energies are capable of being used in Soul Shield creation (while others are likely capable, their application has not been tested). The type of defense used by a shield varies; most types are passive, affecting the user at all times regardless of their state. Active types must be triggered either manually or once certain conditions are met and will remain active until manually deactivated or until another set of conditions are met, or the previous conditions are not met. Some shields use both active and passive methods.

The defense of a soul is no easy task, nor can it always be accomplished; if the power of an effect being blocked by a Soul Shield should exceed the shield's capacity, it will either break no longer holding any effect, or will activate a secondary event such as a soul-tether, or translocation. In some cases a shield will fabricate/summon an ethereal guardian who may not only defend the user's soul, but may actively repel attackers. These types are the rarest and most difficult to craft. The purpose of a Soul Shield is to defend a user's soul, not to prolong its' existence on the mortal/ethereal plane, thus – unless provided by other means–there is no function for a shield to tether the soul back to its body.