All right, enough of that, now onto the real meat and bones of the FAQ. This section discusses various rules questions and setting questions. All questions regarding rules are answered according to 2nd edition.
For some mysterious reason, the paragraph describing how Wraiths regain Pathos by using their passions got left out of Wraith 2nd Edition. It WAS printed in the back of Buried Secrets, posted on alt.games.whitewolf, rec.games.frp.storyteller and other roleplaying newsgroups, and put up on the official White Wolf homepage. But as a public service to all of you, we're gonna reprint it right here (from the WW homepage):
Anyone who writes to White Wolf requesting this information will be
sent an errata sheet. Additional material has been added to the
paragraph that was dropped.
"Houston, we have a problem."
- Jim Lovell, Apollo 13
REGAINING PATHOS THROUGH PASSION
To regain Pathos, a wraith (or Storyteller) rolls dice equal to the rating of her applicable Passion. If the wraith is actually performing the Passion in question, the difficulty of the roll is 6. If the wraith observes mortals who are in the throes of one of her Passions (i.e. experiencing the emotion at the core of the Passion), the same roll can be made at difficulty of 8. Finally, if the wraith herself feels the core emotion, but in a context other than the actual phrasing of the Passion, the difficulty of the roll is 9.
Rolling against a Passion should be reserved for times when a character feels strong emotion. A mild twinge of regret over a sunset not seen should not beget a roll against the Passion Say farewell to my father (Regret) 3. On the other hand, players should feel free to request Passion rolls from their Storytellers whenever they feel appropriate. Furthermore, Storytellers always have the option of rolling against characters' Passions in secret and handing out Pathos garnered in this manner.
A botch on a Passion roll gives the character a point of Temporary Angst instead.
Pathos can never, ever rise above 10.
For Example:
Daffyd has the Passion Atone for my errors (Penitence) 5, and finds himself low on Pathos. However, he's burned up most of his juice trying to recover a relic that a friend had loaned him and that he'd lost.
Daffyd's player asks his Storyteller if these actions were sufficient to trigger the Penitence Passion; the Storyteller agrees that they are and tells Daffyd's player to roll. He takes five dice (equal to his Passion rating) and lets loose: 10, 8, 7, 7, 2. With the four successes, Daffyd gets four points of Pathos and feels much perkier.
Later on, he sees a crying child through the Shroud. The boy has broken what is obviously one of his mother's prized vases and is desperately trying to glue it back together, without much success. Still, the Storyteller rules that observing this allows Daffyd to roll against his Passion, but at a difficulty of 8. Again Daffyd's player reaches for the dice, but this time he gets 7, 6, 5, 2, 1. It's a botch, and instead of Pathos, he gets a shot of Angst. His Shadow chuckles and suggests using Outrage to show the kid what a broken vase really looks like.
Finally, much later Daffyd finds himself awakening from a
Catharsis. Gleefully, his Shadow informs Daffyd that while in
control, he had returned to the little boy's house and shattered
every breakable in it. Of course, the child had been blamed, and
of course his parents didn't believe his story about a ghost being
responsible. At this point, Daffyd expresses genuine regret over
having caused the boy pain, even when it was his Shadow that
performed the actual crime. In secret, the Storyteller figures
that this is close enough to Daffyd's big Passion to warrant a
roll, and behind his screen comes up with 10, 9, 4, 4, 2. He passes
Daffyd's player a note letting him know that he's just come
up with two new Pathos points, and a hint that maybe those points
might be put to best use helping out the child who had suffered for
his sins.
I personally apologise for this oversight.
- Richard E. Dansky Developer, Wraith: The Oblivion
White Wolf Game Studio
The Skinlands are what we living folks ("The Quick", in Wraith lingo) live in. It's the "real" world. A half step away are the Shadowlands - the entropic reflection. The Shadowlands mimic the Skinlands, with two main differences:
The Tempest is another dimension, accessible from the Shadowlands. It's one part hyperspace, one part limbo, and one part Hell. Deep in the Tempest are little pockets of reality. One of them is known as Stygia, the Dark Kingdom of Iron. It is the centre of government and commerce for European and American Wraiths. Other Dark Kingdoms in the Tempest are the Asian Dark Kingdom of Jade, or the African Dark Kingdom of Ivory. Even "farther" away from the Dark Kingdoms are the Far Shores, pockets of reality in the Tempest that are believed by some to be the afterlives described in various religions.
The Shadowlands are part of the Dark Umbra, a part of the Umbra more-or-less sealed off from Garou, mages and anyone who isn't dead. The Tempest is also part of the Dark Umbra. The Deep Umbra and the Horizon Realms have essentially nothing to do with the cosmology of Wraith.
Well, according to page 232 of The BEAST (Wraith 2nd Edition), wraiths are normally in a Corporeal, that is solid, state. When in this state, wraiths can suffer damage from the Skinlands. Any object - a bullet, a speeding car, a forcibly thrown Bon Jovi CD, that hits the Wraith AND WOULD NORMALLY HURT A HUMAN inflicts one level of Corpus damage and turns the wraith incorporeal for a number of turns equal to his Stamina rating.
When a wraith is incorporeal, she cannot be harmed by the Skinlands. Note that an incorporeal wraith is still solid with respect to the Shadowlands. So Joe the Wraith can get run over by a Mac Truck and become insubstantial and still get beaten up by a Legionnaire.
The Shadow is the part of you that wants to die, to embrace Oblivion. It is the "anti-self" and the Psyche is the "self". This is the only motivation *all* Shadows share. However, those parts of the wraith's personality that he wishes to submerge or hide often get tied into his Shadow. This is what differentiates them, and gives them their Dark Passions. Anything that encourages Oblivion, on a personal or a global scale, can be part of a Shadow's motivation.
There are many possibilities. Many Shadows have a perverse pride in their Psyches (especially the Parent). Others enjoy the anticipation and the hunt of it all, dragging out the pleasure of their Psyche's damnation. Some prefer to use their Psyches to ruin their Psyche's friends or Fetters, giving the dominant personality enough rope to hang itself with, and their always remains the possibility of hooking the Psyche on Shadow dice, then withdrawing them at a particularly dangerous moment (which is _beautiful_ when well done).
Remember that the word "sadistic" can be applied to almost all of the Shadow archetypes; taking someone directly to Oblivion by the quickest possible means is no fun at all.
Yup. As a matter of fact, only criminals and Spectres can be smelted legally. For more details, check out "Guildbook: Artificers."
Only vaguely. For the most part, this translates to a Willpower of 0, because if you don't have a mind you can't really set your mind on something.
However, for resisting attacks, treat the Shade's Angst as its Willpower. Even if an animal doesn't know what's hurting it, it will resist as strongly as it can.
Harrowings are run by Spectres, with help from the victim's Shadow. As explained in "Dark Reflections: Spectres," certain Spectres have the ability to communicate with a wraith's Shadow and it is these Spectres who dredge up, via conversations with the Shadow, what the Harrowing will consist of. Spectres also plot and "perform" the Harrowing within the Labyrinth, drawing forth from the Tempest any of the props, tools, or other items they'll need to make the experience as unpleasant as possible for the trapped wraith. The Shadow, while fully conscious of what's going on (and giving advice and encouragement to the Spectres all the way along), is not in charge. It's just sitting back waiting for the chance to take over for good.
Space in Wraith was limited, and those abilities are among the most relevant for modern-day wraiths and campaigns. Obviously, other uses of Inhabit exist, and WW will detail them whenever possible and appropriate. "Guildbook: Artificers" contains several examples. As always, they encourage players and Storytellers to use their imaginations.
a) Is Charon Abel?
The short answer: NO!
The long answer: Abel, if he ever existed, died a loooooong time before Charon was ever born. Charon died during the time of Greece, Abel (being the 4th human) died sometime around 4000 BC.
b) Well who *is* Charon then?
No one really knows. Some say he was a Roman centurion, but no one knows for sure. Except probably the Lady of Fate.
c) What happened to Charon, his mask, and Siklos?
Charon went down in a whirlpool fighting the great Malfean Gorool in the aftermath of the Fifth Great Maelstrom in 1945. His blade Siklos vanished with him, and neither has been seen since. However, several of the guilds are searching for it, for they believe it has reappeared. (see the opening of Guildbook: Sandmen for more details) Charon's mask was left behind in the Citadel but mysteriously vanished after Charon's putative demise. It has not been seen in decades.
Wraith integrates into the other WoD games fairly easily. Certain Arcanos seem made for cross-over potential (Outrage, Embody, Phantasm, etc...), and the awakened make wonderful sources for fetters or passions for wraiths.
Possible story ideas include:
These are just many of the possibilities for interaction. Hopefully these ideas will spark your own imagination.
Yes and no. A wraith in the Shadowlands can only be reached by, for example, a mage using Mind, if Spirit is used also. A wraith skinriding can be affected "normally". When contact is made, the mind contacted will be whichever is dominant: Psyche or Shadow.
Wraiths cannot just "talk" to other supernatural beings, or indeed *anyone* in the Skinlands, for free. At least a basic knowledge of Embody is necessary before a wraith's voice can be heard (albeit faintly) in the Skinlands, without cost.
Several powers can be used to speak with wraiths. However, they are almost always initiated on the other side of the Shroud.
Vampires can become wraiths if they are not diablerised. However, they tend to have a lot of enemies waiting for them once they reach the other side, and ex-Kindred wraiths are a prize catch for Giovanni.
Werewolves can become wraiths *if and only if* they are cursed or Wyrm-tainted. Most Garou have their souls recycled, this being the environmentally correct thing to do. However, those Garou whose spirits get Wyrm-tainted or otherwise corrupted can get trapped in the Dark Umbra.
Mages can and frequently do become wraiths (Passion: Get Those Technocracy SOBs For Wiping Out My Senior Prom With a HIT-Mark, et cetera).
(From Ian Lemke), Changelings possess a Faerie soul which is usually reincarnated into another body at the time of death. Because of this, a changeling will only rarely become a wraith. There are a couple exceptions to this. Sidhe who are not given a wake will not reincarnate, banishing their souls to the afterlife. Many of the sidhe find this preferable to returning as a commoner. Additionally, any changeling killed by cold iron does not reincarnate; that changeling's soul is forever banished from the mortal realm and so may become a wraith.
Mummies spend a good deal of time in-between bodies in the Shadowlands.
If a fomor doesn't fall directly into Oblivion, it could conceivably become a wraith.
Psychics, people with True Faith, hedge magicians, etc., can become wraiths, but with the possible exception of True Faith, they lose their numina.
Remember that when a supernatural being becomes a wraith, they lose ALL of their old powers. No more Disciplines, Spheres, Gifts or Rage.
Basically, if you can think up reasonable Passions and Fetters, your Storyteller agrees on it, and it makes the story better, your character becomes a wraith. There is no chart or dice roll to it.
Samuel Haight is in fact dead and did in fact become a wraith. He was reaped by the Hierarchy and put to use serving that august body to his best capacity; to wit, he is now a small and delicately worked ashtray on a Hierarchy functionary's desk.
No, not that anyone's noticed, though there are unpleasant rumours.
Accepted wisdom is that soulforging destroys the personality of the
soul being hammered while being Moliated does not. (Except for
Adders and Jarec, anyway.)