Character Creation
Step One: Character Concept
What is your Character? In Wraith the character is everything it's
very important to know your character inside and out. It's also
what makes Wraith the hardest game to play in the World of Darkness.
Nature and Demeanour: These are standard
for any white wolf game. They can be found in almost any Revised or
Second Ed World of Darkness Book. Life: What one
phrase sums up your character's life to you? Who where you in life what
did you do with the time you lived? What phrase describes your existence
before death the best? Death: That word sums up how
your character died. Did you died in your sick bed? Where you
strangled on your way home? how did you die, in one word. Regret:
What phrase sums up why you still cling to the lands of the living? Why
are you still here? What unfinished business causes you to linger?
Faction: The dead have themselves broken into factions,
what group did your character join after their death? what
side of the fence are you one?
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Unaligned: You have yet top
learn of or join one of the factions. Heretics: Religious
fanatics amongst the dead. Though many bizarre religions have sprung up
amongst the Restless, most Heretic have some sort of central belief
based around the notion of Transcendence (the moment a wraith moves onto
a higher existence considered a legend by most.) The Guilds:
Organizations dedicated to the study and use of one of the Arcanoi.
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Harbingers, Masters of Argos:
Explorers, messengers
and heralds. the Harbingers specialise in Argos the Arcanos of
movement. Pardoners, Masters of Castigate: Priest,
Monks and Scholars, the Pardoners looks at the study of their
Arcanoi in almost a religious manner. Proctors, Masters of Embody:
Specialist in wandering the lands of men from death. Oracles,
Masters of Fatalism: Wise seers and fortune tellers, the Oracles
tend not to give information if not asked for the future is not
always fair. Artificers, Masters of Inhabit:
A proud guild that specialise in the Arcanoi effecting objects. Chanteur, Masters of Keening:
Having a reputation for being haughty and argent, the Chanteurs
pride themselves on being the one who brought music to the lands of
the dead. Monitors, Lifeweb: Defensive and secretive, the
Monitors are a tight nit guild only sharing their secrets with their
most trusted students. Masquer, Masters of Moliate:
Artist of the flesh, the Masquers delight in sculpting Corpus and
bring their own touch to whatever they sculpt. Spooks, Masters of
Outrage: Known as fractious troublemakers, with a lack of
eternal structure. Haunters, Masters of Pandemonium:
With
a reputation for being deranged, the Haunters seek to help the dead
by making themselves known to the living. Sandmen, Masters of
Phantasm: Forgers of dream stuff the Sandmen are known for
practicing their Arcanoi with a artistic fervor and love for the
dramatic. Puppeteers, Masters of Puppetry: Everything from
loving protectors to abusive joy riders, puppeteers have mastered
inhabiting the bodies of the Quick. Usurers, Masters of Usury:
distrusted for past betrayal, the money lender style Guild of the
Usurers deals in Corpus and Pathos.
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Hierarchy: The monolithic bureaucracy of the Dark kingdom of
Iron a.k.a. the Empire of Stygia. Formerly the most powerful ruling
force in North America now left in ashes by the last great maelstrom.
Renegades: No structure, organization or unified goal other then
rebellion. Renegades range from true freedom fighters to the ghost
of ruffians looking for a free afterlife. |
Step Two:
Select Attributes The same in all White
Wolf Revised game and can be found in any core book.
Step Three: Select
Abilities Standards in most White Wolf Games, Easy to find
in any Second or Third Edition Core Rule Book.
Step Four: Select Advantages
Arcanos (5 points): Power possessed by the Wraiths.
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Argos: The Arcanos of travel,
allowing its users to safely navigate the Tempest. It allows its
users to navigate perfectly, to fly and even teleport. Castigate:
The practice of Castigation allows a wraith's shadow to be
battled back into submission. Its practioners are welcomed
throughout the Underworld. Embody: It allows a wraith to breach the Shroud and once again walk
in the Quick Lands. The act of pulling oneself through the Shroud
eventually causes the wraith to gain a dappled colouration.
Fatalism: The clues to our past and future are all there - if
you know where to look... Fatalism allows a wraith to examine the
weave of Fate's tapestry and foretell the future, as well as seeing
events long gone. Inhabit: The Arcanos of the
Artificers, inhabit allows a wraith to pour his physical essence
into any inanimate object, allowing the creation of everything from
spectral crossbows to shadow computers. Also useful in the process
of soulforging. Keening: Keening is the ultimate expression of
an artist's wish to inspire emotion in an audience. By either song,
dance or other art form a wraith can literally impose an emotion on
the witness. The source of legends of Banshees and other groaning
spirits. Lifeweb: Everything is connected to
everything else, Lifeweb allows you to feel the connections other
have with things such as fetters. Moliate:
Plasm, the very soul stuff of wraiths, is easily malleable to the
practitioners of this strange art. Outrage: Outrage allows
a wraith to manifest physical energy across the Shroud, allowing
tables etc to be thrown arround, without the danger of physically
manifesting a form. Pandemonium: Ever noticed
how the air suddenly chills for no reason. How the clock sometimes
seems to strike thirteen? This is the work of those who practise
this Arcanoi. Such is their power that they can tap into the essence
of chaos and project it across the Shroud. To say that they control
Chaos would be wrong however, instead they can merely unleash it. Phantasm:
The ability to manipulate a mortal's dream. Once used as part of the
greatest drama productions. Puppeteer: Able to
re-enter the skinlands by 'riding' a mortal host Usary: All
things have a cost. Whether it be in blood or a wraith's life
energy.
Bartering in Pathos and Corpus, even selling the souls of the Quick
themselves. |
Backgrounds (7 points): here are listed the
backgrounds you can take as a Wraith. Extra information is
provided on none standard backgrounds.
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Allies Artifact: Commonly fuelled by
Pathos, Artifacts have a certain functions or powers that aid the
wraith who carry them. Any wraith who chooses the Artifact
background must create in conjunction with the Storyteller, a story
explaining reasonably where she obtained the Artifact and why she
was allowed to keep it.
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(1) A seemingly insignificant Artifact. (2)
A minor Artifact such as a Moliated Torch. (3) An Artifact
of some purpose like a sword of Stygion steel. (4) A Major
and unique Artifact, a gun that doesn't need relic bullets. (5)
One of the most powerful of object, the envy of all other
wraiths. |
Contact Eidolon: Eidolon is a measure of spiritual
fortitude. It is an indication of special potential in a
particular wraith resist the temptations, assaults and insults of
the Shadow.While this does notr nessarily suggest that a wraith
is objectively good or even moral, it does reveal a wholesome
resitance to the manipulations of the Shadow. Each point of
Eidolon represent an extra die per session a player can add to
any roll resisting some intent, plot or ploy of her Shadow,
including thorns. A player may use one, some or all of his
Eidolon dice in any roll but may not use more then his total
Eidolon rating per session. |
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(1) You can sometimes second
guess your shadow. (2) There are days when you are firmly in
control. (3) Spiritually tough; your shadow must work hard to
influence you. (4) You see through all your shadows
ploys (5) Your shadow must choose its moments carefully or
waste all its efforts. |
Haunt: A Wraith's home and personal
sanctuary. The haunt is more resistant to the storms of the
tempest, the gauntlet rating is lower in a haunt and Arcanoi
rolls easier. a haunt can be owned by several Wraiths
pooling the haunt background.
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(1) A small domicile, perhaps a
closet of phone booth. (2) A Haunt large enough for you to
survive in but hardly luxurious. (3) A fair-sized Haunt which
can accommodate you and several guests comfortably. (4) An
opulent Haunt, ample accommodations for up to four Wraiths.
Alternatively a special Haunt, such as a mobile or well-defended
Haunt. (5) A majestic Haunt in good repair, perhaps the
haunted mansion on the hill. No doubt this Haunt is the envy of
many and powerful wraith not blessed with such a home
themselves. |
Legacy: A thing you created that you
left behind, a mark left by you upon the world, maybe a painting
of yours hangs in a gallery, maybe you planted a thousand trees
or a building you designed. Once per story a Wraith can try and
gain focus and comfort from her legacy. to do so the Wraith must
travel to the site of her legacy or some important place
associated with it in the case of intangible legacies. the
Wraith rolls a number of dice equal to her background difficulty
7. the number of success represents the number of levels
of damage a Wraith can heal. normal damage is healed
instantly, while aggravated damage takes approximately one hour
of attendance upon the legacy per Corpus point healed. |
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(1) A painting of you hangs
somewhere on a wall of some obscure gallery. (2) You funded a
building on a college campus. (3) You re-seeded a devastated
forest area through people pass every day. (4) You
designed the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. (5) An
important idea in modern life is attributed to you. perhaps you
founded a religious or a political movement. |
Mentor: I know mentor is a standard
background, but I don't particularly base points on how
powerful your mentor is but on how useful they are to you.
for example your mentor might be Charon if you never see him
he's not very useful. Once per session a wraith
may roll her mentor difficulty 7 a success mean the wraith
gains the needed mentors help, a failure means the mentor is
unable to help and a botch indicates the mentor will require
aid themselves. |
Memoriam: The measure of how
many people remember you and hold your memory alive. These
people can aid you in death by giving you extra Pathos. Memoriam
allows the wraith access to extra Pathos. By invoking the
feelings that the living have for her., once per session a
wraith may roll her Memoriam rating (difficulty 8), with each
success granting one point of Pathos. If a botch is rolled one
of the Memoriam is permanently lost, as the inevitable process
of the forgetfulness and myth obscures memories of the wraith. |
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(1) One person remembers you.
Maybe that is enough. (2) A handful of people remember
you on occasion. (3) Your family and a few others
remember you and some things you did together. (4) A
community, organization or company has you on it's roll of
honour or curses your name. (5) you have legendary
status for an entire nation, or more. this level of recognition
is far easier to achieve in a negative light then a positive
one. |
Notoriety: How well known you are
amongst the restless dead. This background can in fact be a
blessing and a curse. |
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(1) You have made some
impression. (2) Perhaps your haunt is visited regularly. (3)
your name has traveled father then you have. (4) Every Wraith
in the Shadowlands recognizes your name (but not necessarily
your face.) (5) For whatever reason, you cannot escape being
recognized everywhere you go. |
Relic: An object that had enough emotion
poured into it to cross over the shroud after it was destroyed.
the relic can be something many people have pour an emotion into
.I.E. The Twin Towers, or something a individual has poured
emotion into, a wedding band or a beloved book. Characters who
take this background can purchase it more then once with each
purchase representing one relic of the appropriate level. |
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(1) A seemingly insignificant
relic, like keys to a treasured car. (2) A minor relic,
perhaps a small work of art. (3) A relic with some
usefulness, a telescope or a knife. (4) A major relic with
moving parts. often powered by Pathos. (5) A huge or
invaluable relic, a sophisticated device or famous object. |
Status: Your status in the factions of
the restless dead, weather you be a ranking member
of the Hierarchy's Army, a Priest among Heretics, or a ranking
member of the guilds. A character may have rank in
multiple factions, if they do this background must be taken more
then once. |
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(1) An initiate of some
kind. you are most likely responsible for unpleasant duties, but
are at least recognised as part of the group. (2) After
demonstrating your devotion to the group, you have been chosen
for a position of some responsibility. (3) You are in the
murky middle ranks. not low enough to be pushed around or
high enough to do the pushing, this is a dangerous to be, but
has many rewards. (4) This level of Status represents
the level of management and privilege. You can access the
resources of the group and are trusted by it's leaders. (5)
Player characters are unlikely to ever rise higher then this.
Having gained significant power respect, you are a leader. |
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Passions (10 points): What fuels a Wraith
character. a Character's passions are the emotions that keeps them
attached to the lands of the living. A Passions has the
emotion and then the action attacked to the emotion. then the
amount of points you place in it. Love: to help my best
friend get a boyfriend who loves her. (3 points)
the Points
attached to your Passion indicates how powerful the emotion is.
Since there are 1 billion ways for Wraith to roll their passions, these
are the rules the story teller has made up to keep them easy.
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System for Gaining Pathos: the closer the
emotion to your original feeling the easier it is to acquire Pathos.
Here is a chart that I will generally be using.
Similar Emotion. |
The emotion is Similar but not
the same. |
Difficulty 9 |
Weak Emotion |
The emotion is the same but weakly felt. |
Difficulty 8 |
Same Emotion |
The emotion being felt is same as your
own and intense. |
Difficulty 7 |
Same Emotion Similar Action. |
the emotion is the same and the action is
similar, they are helping if you're action is to help, or
protecting if your action is to protect. |
Difficulty 6 |
Same Emotion Very Close Action. |
The emotion is the same and and so is the
context. mostly.. for example you want to protect a brother
they are protecting a family member like their mother. |
Difficulty 5 |
Same Emotion Same Action |
The emotion is the same and they are doing the
exact same action you wrote down. Protecting their Brother,
helping their best friend etc. |
Difficulty 4 |
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You roll a number of dice equal to the points you
put in your passion. the difficulty is set by how close to your
passion the emotion you are "feeding" on is see chart above.
with a +1 tot he difficultly a wraith can gain Pathos from another
Wraith. + 3 diff to gain pathos from an emotion you are
feeling. You can put 1 to 5 a points in passions. For a page that
helps give good ideas for passions go
here. |
Fetters (10 Points): Physical things that tie you to your
former existence. A Fetter is a person, place or thing that has special
importance to you, and will continue to anchor you to the Shadowlands
until either it is destroyed by outside forces or it looses its meaning
to you. You have 10 points to assign to fetters, which can have ratings
from 1 to 5. the more important the fetter the higher the rating and
vice versa. Fetters can have mystery to them - you may not
remember why they are so important to you, you might have to quest for
the answer to why a fetter holds significance for you.
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You can regain Corpus by slumbering in a Fetter.
you must spend 8 hours in your fetter then you may roll Stamina
diff in the fetter you are slumbering in. You regain a
number of Corpus levels equal to your success. Normal damage
is fix instantly, aggravated damage takes an hour per corpus level
and the player must spend 3 points of Pathos per level of Aggravated
damage. |
Step Five: Finishing Touches Record Beginning Pathos (5 +
Memoriam) and beginning Willpower (5)
Spend Freebies (15)
Attributes |
5 points per dot |
Arcanoi |
5 points per dot |
Arcanoi Basic Abilities |
3 points per Arcanoi |
Willpower |
2 points per dot. |
Abilities |
2 points per dot |
Passions |
2 points per dot |
Backgrounds |
1 point per dot |
Fetters |
1 point per dot |
Pathos |
1 point per 2 dots |
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