 
Call me the champion of the underdog games. I've created this Wraith page for myself, and for you players and Storytellers who appreciate the game. Orpheus will never replace the original for me; I want to tell ghost stories about ghosts, silly me.
The Sixth Great Maelstrom
Wraith: the Oblivion failed to sell many books, and I understand the line was canceled for that reason. (While I won't expound upon my theories on why that was the case, I can tell you with certainty that it was not lack of quality.) White Wolf has to make money, and it'd be be arrogant (and pointless) for me to sit here and condemn them for that. (It's a moot point, anyway; the other games set in the original World of Darkness are in the same boat as Wraith, now, though I continue to play them.)
One thing I don't like, however, is how they salted the earth for future Wraith stories after canceling the line, via the unrelenting Sixth Great Maelstrom. While the Maelstrom ties into Orpheus, this is a Wraith page, and therefore the latter game takes precedence over the former here. Thus, you won't find information here for Orpheus; I'm sure Orpheus fans will provide you that. My material also doesn't account for, or refer to, the Sixth Great Maelstrom or the Time of Judgment; obviously, I'm not huge on the World of Darkness metaplot, especially if it's actively detrimental to the games I love.
So if you want to play Wraith games, you can fool around with or outright ignore the metaplot. You can set stories before the storm hit, after the Maelstrom died down (which is the option I'm going with), or in a World of Darkness that didn't have one to begin with. Your choice.
|
|
Bylaws of Charon: I pack a lot of useful stuff into this small page. Herein are some house rules, mechanics tweaks, alternate rules for character generation, and conversions from Second Edition Wraith to Revised rules.
Arcanoi: While Wraith is an intensely personal Storytelling game, a few crunchy bits here and there never hurts. First is Manifestations, which showcases several new arts of wraiths, including rare and powerful tempered arts. Two new Arcanoi, dying practices lost to all but a few Restless, are presented as well: the Masquer-developed Corporis and the druidic Verdis.
Old Soul: Ever want to play a wraith from the Civil War, or a deathless knight from the Middle Ages? The capabilities and drawbacks of older wraiths are detailed here, including a revised version of the Old Soul Background, and the option to improve traits (including Arcanoi) beyond 5.
Orpheus Elements, Wraith Context: You may have gathered that I prefer Wraith to Orpheus, I'd be remiss to say that there aren't some good ideas in the latter game. Here's my attempt to capture the best of both worlds by incorporating the best elements of Orpheus into Wraith. Feel free to dig through these options and use any that you like.
Faces of Death: What happens when a vampire, wizard or shapeshifter becomes a wraith? This page explores this issue in depth, discussing the place these unusual Restless occupy in the society of the dead, their special burdens, and how they relate to their former peers. Included are rule variants, roleplaying tips for players, and advice for Storytellers that want to incorporate these ideas into their games. Oh, and it's illustrated. (While this is technically "crossover" material, it's good crossover that retains the essential themes and conflicts of all the games involved. So don't be afraid to read it!)
Links
Right now I have only three links, but they're worth visiting. If there are other good Wraith pages out there (and there doubtless are), let me know! We'll link each other. (My contact info is on my White Wolf index.)
Hobby's Wraith: the Great War Page: My newest entry, this excellent page was done by a friend of mine. This page has everything one needs to create a Wraith: the Great War chronicle (besides the book itself, of course), included real-world World War I history, a photo gallery, and even crunchy stuff like tempered Arcanoi. Highly recommended.
Knocking on Charon's Door: A website that has a loads of useful information, including new Arcanoi, factions, Underworld monsters, artifacts, and more.
The Yahoo! Wraith the Oblivion Group: A good forum to post ideas and get in touch with other wraith players.
Return to the White Wolf index.
|