Ghosts
Contents
Introduction
A wraith is a ghost, the soul of a person who has died unfulfilled and now haunts the Shadowlands.
Wraiths -- The Restless Dead
Overview
For some reason, known or unknown to the wraith, they are still tied to the living world (the Skinlands) and cannot pass on to the ineffable afterworld. They are the subject of the Wraith: The Oblivion roleplaying line. Wraiths are confined to the Underworld, a parallel reality which is tangentially connected to the living world, but distinct with its own laws and physics.
About 5% of people becomes wraiths after death in time of relative calm. Far more in times of great calamity and suffering. For example, there were about one million active wraiths in London Necropolis before the Great Maelstrom. In the World of Darkness, it is plausible a sizable percentage instantly becomes Spectres at the time of their death.
Attributes
Physically, a wraith is a coherent "body" of plasm, the substance that makes up the majority of the Underworld. Plasm is a non-material "stuff" that houses the wraith's soul and which the wraith unconsciously shapes into a form resembling their living body (often somewhat exaggerated, and incorporating Deathmarks). The wraith's Corpus, their body-equivalent, can be changed by Moliate or through soulforging and has only a loose relationship to what the living would think of as a body. Most wraiths are solid plasm - which is to say that if a wraith were chopped in two, there would be no internal organs, just a consistent mass of "stuff" throughout the body.
Wraithly bodies are subject to their own distinct metaphysics; in the Shadowlands and Tempest, they obey local rules of gravity, but under certain conditions can pass through material things (informally called the rule of ouch). Plasm can also be used to manufacture objects and many of the items in wraithly society are comprised of other wraiths.
The wraithly mind is divided into two parts, the Psyche and the Shadow. After death, the negative, self-loathing and self-defeating parts of a wraith's personality form a distinct archetypal personality of their own. This personality, the Shadow, is in communion with the darker forces of the Labyrinth and serves as a constant foil and antagonist to the Psyche. The Psyche, in turn, is the wraith's original personality, or at least the parts of its personality that retains its humanity and sense of survival or will to live. Wraiths have a higher, positive personality as well, usually termed the Eidolon. In the modern era, the Eidolon is generally fairly weak due to the severe suffering and cynicism in the world and most wraiths are only marginally aware that they have one.
For a wraith to exist in the first place, it must be bound to the living world by one or more Fetters. Fetters are objects (or creatures) in the living world to which the wraith is connected and that keep it from passing on. Fetters are a mixed blessing for wraiths - allowing them to interact with the living world, but also binding them to it.
Pathos & Angst
A wraith's psyche feeds on Pathos, the energy of emotion. Each wraith has several Passions, the emotions which are most tightly connected to its personality. Experiencing these emotions, even vicariously, provides the psyche with energy that the wraith can then use for various purposes.
The Shadow also has energy, called Angst, which it can acquire by fulfilling its own passions. These Dark Passions are generally contrary to the wraith's own goals.
Deathcycle and Types of Wraiths
Wraithly status is defined by a combination of age, maintenance of one's Fetters and Willpower. The lowest form of wraith is a Drone, a wraith that does not have any Willpower or personal identity, drones are condemned to eternally act out their personal tragedies and are tightly bound to their Passions and Fetters. Having no personality or self-will, they are usually converted into raw materials as soon as they are found.
Self-aware wraiths begin as Enfants; when a person dies, its soul is reborn in the Underworld covered in a layer of plasm called a caul. The caul acts as a cocoon that keeps the wraith docile until it is removed, a few wraiths remove their cauls themselves, but the majority of cauls are removed by another wraith, traditionally called a Reaper.
Young wraiths are called Lemures, with the distinction between a young and an older wraith primarily being Fetters. A Domem is a wraith whose Fetters are all destroyed, preventing them from staying in the Shadowlands for any period of time - while Domemhood generally implies age, a wraith can become a Domem while still very young, all it requires is that their Fetters be destroyed. A Gaunt is an older wraith who has resolved one or more of its Fetters and still maintains them. Gaunts are significantly more powerful (and generally more canny) than Domems and are consequently more respected in wraithly society, though there are rare exceptions, such as the Deathlords.
The final distinct class of wraiths are Spectres, which are wraiths who have been absorbed by Oblivion. Spectres have their own society and from the wraithly perspective are mostly hostile entities out to destroy all other wraiths.
Arcanoi
The arts of the dead, Arcanoi are secret spiritual abilities that can either be taught or acquired through experience. Generally, the higher the level of the Arcanos that you wish to learn, the more difficult it will be to learn, the more powerful it will be, and the higher it will cost to activate.
Markings
Excessive use of one or more Arcanoi skills will undoubtedly result in the marking of his or her corpus with traces of those powers. Such markings and traces cannot be removed by any sort of cosmetic alteration. If a wraith frequently uses more than one Arcanos, then the markings of all used Arcanoi will be visible. If the Arcanoi markings would conflict (as with Argos and Intimation), then the wraith takes on the markings of the Arcanos used most often, with the other manifesting in subtle ways (so a wraith with Argos primary and Intimation secondary would have jet-black eyes, with an olive sheen apparent in the left one under the right light).
Usage
In order to activate an Arcanos, a wraith must normally spend Pathos, the energy of emotion. To use an Arcanos toward a particular end, one must roll dice to acquire the success rating of the Arcanos, and the attribute it is being used in concert with. For usage in the Skinlands, one must also contend with/roll against the rating of the Shroud, usually 9 except on rare occasions such as visits to graveyards, usage of seances or ouija boards, the stroke of midnight, Friday the 13th, Halloween, or other special holidays or traditions regarding the deceased. {Note: The shroud varies considerably, a Shroud rating 9 would exist in a high-tech laboratory or a place of strong faith like a cathedral.}
Guild References
Users of Arcanoi are traditionally referred to by the name of the Guild that the Arcanos once belonged to, even though the Guilds themselves have long since disappeared from the respectable parts of wraith society. For example, a wraith with Argos is always called a Harbinger, even if they have never actually been a member of or even heard of the Harbinger Guild. Likewise, a user of Embody is always called a Proctor, a user of Flux is always called an Alchemist, and so on. Wraiths with multiple Arcanoi can be referred to by any of the names of Arcanoi they possess, though it usually defaults to their strongest ability.
Primary Arcanoi
Acceptable Arcanoi
- Argos -- Users of Argos can manipulate, navigate, and travel through the Tempest.
- Castigate -- Users of Castigate can manipulate and control a wraith’s Shadow.
- Embody -- Those who use Embody can manifest in the physical world and, under the right circumstances, appear as a living person.
- Fatalism -- Those with the gift of Fatalism are able to see into another’s past or future, and read a wraith's ultimate Fate.
- Inhabit -- Wraiths gifted with Inhabit can manipulate and control inanimate objects.
- Keening -- Those who can use the arts of Keening can manipulate emotions through sound.
- Lifeweb -- Wraiths who know Lifeweb can use it to strengthen, weaken, or watch over Fetters.
- Moliate -- Those who Moliate are able to reshape their Corpus, and the Corpus of others, into fascinating, and sometimes terrifying forms.
- Outrage -- Outrage affects the Skinlands by manifesting a wraith’s will in the form of a powerful force.
- Pandemonium -- Wraiths who use this Arcanos can use the powers of chaos to create havoc in the living world.
- Phantasm -- Those who use the abilities of Phantasm can manipulate dreams and create illusions.
- Puppetry -- Those who master Puppetry can control the bodies of the Quick.
- Usury -- Those who master Usury can trade the very forces that wraiths thrive on.
Forbidden Arcanoi
- Flux -- Flux affects the structure and reaction of matter in the Skinlands.
- Intimation -- Users of Intimation can tweak the desires and wishes of other wraiths.
- Mnemosynis -- Users of Mnemosynis can trace and read the memories of others.
The Jade Arcanoi
These are the Arcanoi of the wraiths of the Yellow Springs. They can be found in Dark Kingdom of Jade.
- Chains of the Emperor -- The Chains of the Emperor can subdue any wraith, kuei, or lesser Spectre.
- Way of the Artisan -- Those who can use the abilities of the Artisan can shape and manipulate objects, relics, and Artifacts.
- Way of the Farmer -- The wraiths who master this Arcanos can control kuei, or wild spirits with no hun.
- Way of the Merchant -- Although generally loathed by the population of the Yellow Springs, the wraiths who use this Arcanos allow wraiths to use the sacrifices sent by their living relatives.
- Way of the Scholar -- The wraiths who use this Arcanos can manipulate the huns of other wraiths, in essence controlling their minds and actions.
- Way of the Soul -- Those who use these abilities can master their own p'o, but not those of others.
Miscellaneous Arcanoi
- Behest - A specialty Arcanos from the Dark Kingdom of Ivory. Found in Wraith: The Great War.
- Connaissance - An Arcanos of Les Invisibles. Found in the WTO: Shadow Players Guide.
- Displace - Used in Swar. Found in Wraith: The Great War.
- Kinesis - An early form of Inhabit. Found in Wraith: The Great War.
- Leechcraft - A form of Larceny used during wartime. Found in Wraith: The Great War.
Theoretical: Arcanoi & The Spheres
Some have speculated as to the connection between the innate abilities of Wraiths to exhibit Arcanoi, and those similar abilities of Mages to manipulate reality through Spheres. Perhaps there is a connection. In a similar vein, some have connected the strength of the Shroud with the idea of Paradox, in that the general consensus of sleeper minds can prevent Spheres and Arcanoi from succeeding. Some have called this Mage-Wraith crossover mechanic "The Oppositional Aura."
Backgrounds for Wraith
- Artifact - An valuable object imbued with power and fueled with Pathos.
- Eidolon - The ability of a wraith to resist their Shadow.
- Guild Status - Status within the shadowy organizations called the Guilds.
- Haunt - A spiritual refuge from the dangers of the Shadowlands.
- Legacy - The works of a wraith in life that continue on after their death as a tribute to their memory. Visiting these works can be used to heal damage to their Corpus.
- Memoriam - The memories that people hold of the deceased. Can be tapped into as a source of Pathos... though memories fade.
- Relic - An object that passed through the Shroud with a wraith due to emotional resonance.
- Wealth - Wraithly Resources.
Noteworthy Wraiths
- -- Charon -- The First Ferryman.
- -- Otto von Bismarck -- Anacreon of Berlin
- -- Marie Laveau -- Voodoo Queen of New Orleans
- -- Mariline -- The Crimson Woman of Storyville
- -- Emilio Rosselini -- Wraithly taskmaster of the Giovanni.
- -- Valentina della Passaglia -- Herald of the Giovanni's Doom.
- -- Ghost Platoon -- A Circle of Vietnam War era Wraiths that all hold Dr.Tremen Hall as a Fetter.
- -- Susan Hall -- Wife of the Cannibal Doctor
- -- William Wallace -- Scottish Patriot and Martyr {Honorable Mention}
African Circle -- Les Effaceurs
- -- Saartjie Baartman -- The Hottentot Venus {1789 - 1815}
- -- Sha'iqiyya -- Sudanese Tax Collector {1881 – 1899}
- -- Ota Benga -- Mbuti Pygmy Hunter {1883 – 1916}
- -- Raphael Issa -- Child Soldier of the Lord's Resistance Army {1987 - 2000}
- -- Sentwali Smyth -- Interahamwe Foot Soidier {1973 - 2007} -- Kivu conflict
The Caledonian Circle -- The Disinherited
- -- Henry de Beaumont -- 14th Century Scottish Earl and Military Genius
- -- Keir Brodie -- The Highland Mercenary
- -- Iagan McEwan -- The Scottish Druid
- -- Alexander Dunlop -- The Mad Doctor
- -- Malina Boyd -- Lady of the Night
Random Wraiths
- -- Des Dustin - The regimental drummer boy. {Richmond of North Yorkshire - England - 2042}
- Bulus Barakat -- The Harbinger
