[Omegonthesane]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Huh. And here I thought that that's how the Bodiless already work: Body Hits are tracked on a per-Vessel basis; and the Bodiless, not having Vessels, don't have Body Hits of their own, instead using the Body Hits of their host.

Not quite, according to the first bunch of errata for the core rules, and presumably according to printings made after that errata:

Physical damage is measured in Body hits. A celestial's total Body hits equal his vessel level plus Corporeal Forces, times Strength. (A possessed host's Corporeal Forces are that body's "vessel level.") Humans, including undead, have Body hits equal to Corporeal Forces plus any Toughness (p. 48), times Strength.

So, importantly, a random host becomes a hell of a lot more resilient while the possessing spirit is inside, but Kyriotates will probably become dissonant if they don't heal it up to their own HP total, as that's then damage to the host's substantially lower hitpoints.

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Yes, this approach puts the Bodiless at a disadvantage in physical combat compared to other celestials in that their hosts tend to be more vulnerable than the Vessels of their celestial opponents; but this is balanced by the fact that the Bodiless have an endless supply of hosts, whereas once a regular celestial loses a Vessel, it has lost a significant investment; and once it loses its last Vessel, its options in the Corporeal Realm are severely curtailed. It always seemed like a fair tradeoff to me.

Not really, at least not for Kyrios - they actually gain dissonance every time one of their vessels is splatted. As do Shedim, but Kyrios also gain dissonance merely for leaving a host in the middle of combat, and Shedim don't care if the host dies as a result of their departure.

Originally Posted by dataweaver

To me, the benefits that the Bodiless bring to their hosts are the higher characteristics that they probably have due to having more Forces, plus the fact that their typical host is not Symphonically Aware (and thus doesn't have access to Songs, Attunements, or targeted Essence expenditures). Plus the fact that the host counts as a vessel for purposes such as fatigue and exposure to the elements.

We say benefits. Kyriotates banish the host owner for the duration of their stay, while Shedim are rarely going to be sufficiently innocuous to make their arrival a net benefit for the host or anyone within about 10 miles of them.

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Still, let's try some alternatives:

I'd prefer #2 to #1 simply for reduced book keeping. #3 has even less book keeping, but exactly as written is too kind to extreme tanks (who will rarely have fewer than the host's original max hits when the possession ends) and too harsh to squishy Kyriotates (who apparently cause harm that they cannot revoke during their stay to any human who happens to have more natural hits than they do).