Ancestor Spirits

Class

Enemy unit

Group

Tsoo

Description

Ancestor Spirit

Image to the left: one of the scrolls used by the Tsoo Sorcerers to summon Ancestor Spirits.

In-game description:

"The monstrous Ancestor Spirits are physical manifestations of the long-dead Tsoo progenitors. They're incredibly strong and tough in combat, but they're also wily. they have the ability to become intangible at will, making them slippery opponents to pin down in a fight."

Ancestor spirits are interesting enough to make an article about the because of their very nature. The Tsoo seem to have a great respect for these beings, and can be seen bowing before them and worshiping them in the area of Talos Island.

Apparently they have to be summoned by the Tsoo Sorcerers via use of spells inscribed in scrolls (1). And the knowledge of Ancestor Spirits summoning was revealed to them by none other than Tub Ci (2). Now, nowhere is mentioned that Tub Ci had this skill when he was younger, so it is my personal theory that this skills was also part of the legacy granted to him by Pha Xiong. The complex ritual to summon them was somehow discovered by a young artist, who made a series of paintings about it (3). The paintings describe the summoning process:

Painting 1

This painting of a mist shrouded, alien landscape gives you the creeps

Painting 2

This painting shows a twisted, ghost-like creature

Painting 3

This painting of a nightmarish landscape makes you ill at ease

Painting 4

This disturbing painting shows two strange, unearthly creatures locked in combat

Not very clear, but it's the only description of the process that exists so far.

A less known fact is the effect that a concentration of such beings in an area can bring. According to MAGI a large number of them in an area can be dangerous enough to the point of tearing apart the mystical fabric of the area. (4)

In game, Ancestor Spirits never talk.

As the in-game description suggests, Ancestor Spirits are fearsome fighters in hand-to-hand combat. Despite the MAGI warning, the concentration of these spirits in an area has had no in-game effects of any kind...at least until now.

An interesting fact is that Ancestor Spirit bracers, belt, mask and even knees are covered with Asian glyphs. If such glyphs are merely decorative or actually say something, I don't know. Any experts in oriental languages around?

Appearances

In game

• City of Heroes:
  • Mission: Defeat art thief and his crew (Paintings describe the summoning)
  • Mission: Go to Talos Island and cull the number of the Tsoo (MAGI warning)
  • Tsoo Salvage: Scrolls will drop off Tsoo as salvage. Its description implies they are used in ancestor spirits summoning.
  • Paragon City won't run out of Ancestor Spirits any time soon. The can be found in the zones of Steel Canyon, Talos Island, Dark Astoria and Sirens Call, as well as in plenty of Tsoo missions.

• City of Villains:
  • They can be found in Siren's Call

A group of Tsoo worship one of their honored Ancestor Spirits

In Comic Book

UNKNOWN

In Novels

UNKNOWN

Other Sources (Pen and Pencil game, Trading Cards game, etc...)

So far, none

Sources

1: Tsoo Salvage: Scrolls

2: City of Heroee official site: the Tsoo

3: City of Heroes mission: Defeat art thief and his crew

4: City of Heroes mission: Go to Talos Island and cull the number of the Tsoo

See also

Tsoo

Tub Ci

Pha Xiong

MAGI

External Links

• City of Heroes official website

The source of most of the info for this article, and the best source available.

• Wikipedia: Ancestor worship

Like many other things, I don't think this enemy was randomly added by the devs: worshiping of ancestors is no new by any means, and has deep roots, especially in Asian cultures.