Wraith: The Oblivion, Second Edition [Hardcover]

Richard Dansky (Author), Sam Chupp (Author), Jennifer Harshorn (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: White Wolf Publishing; 2nd edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565046005
• ISBN-13: 978-1565046009
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Passionate, tragic, and supremely beautiful, January 29, 2000

By 

Richard Clayton "Geek" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wraith: The Oblivion, Second Edition (Hardcover)

Wraith: The Oblivion is far and away the BEST of White Wolf's "World of Darkness" role-playing games.

The world is grim and forbidding... far more so than even the typical WoD setting, but without the flagrant overstatement occasionally found in Vampire or Werewolf. The backdrop is absolutely perfect for the story... Imagine the frustration, pain, and tragedy of being able to see and feel and hear the world you left behind... but being unable to move or manipulate that world. Imagine seeing your ex-wife grow old and die... or feeling the impotent rage of watching the bastard who raped and murdered you stalking his next target. Calling the setting "gothic" is a horrible injustice; it is akin to dismissing Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy as "a story about elves."

The emphasis is overwhelmingly on role-playing; combat junkies and munchkins need not apply. Although physical conflict and neat toys and powers have their place in the sepulchral setting of Wraith, the game is such that your character won't even SURVIVE for long without thoroughly roleplaying the Passions and beliefs that fuel her post-mortem existence. Emotions run high; it's not unusual for one or more players to end up in tears during a gaming session. I have even seen a real-life romance blossom from the results of in-character roleplaying. The triumphs and defeats, joys and sorrows, of the characters are raw and clear by their players.

In short, this game is absolutely wonderful- even for people new to the "World of Darkness" or who are not normally interested in "gothic horror." If you enjoy roleplaying with a heavy emphasis

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bleak and brilliant..., July 27, 2001

By 

Blake B. Ellis "Wizard" (Louisville, Ky, 40204) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wraith: The Oblivion, Second Edition (Hardcover)

I am somewhat of an avid gamer, and recently a friend offered to lend me the Wraith core rulebook and the sourcebook for the Wraith "campaign" setting "The Great War", which chronicles the Wraith world throughout the first World War... And man, I've gotta tell you, I was blown away. If you want politics, go with V:TM. If you want pure fantasy, go with Changeling. If you want hack and slash, go with Werewolf or Mage. If you want Lovecraftian noirish game, play Hunter, or Call of Cthulu. If you want a pretty well rounded medieval game, follow the path of AD&D. But if you want a game built almost entirely on the role-playing aspects, on emotions and tapping into one's deepest desires and passions, flea while you still can to White Wolf's Wraith: The Oblivion. It is amazing. Enter a world where souls are the most cherished possession, and at the same time the most devalued object ever known(souls can be made into anything from money to ashtrays), where the heaven and hells of every religion seem everything but real, but can be found only a boatride away. Imagine this world where the only thing keeping you from perpetual non-existence is a want, a need, a love so strong that it anchors you from the very maw of omnipresent oblivion itself, waiting at the brink of the underworld. Waiting to devour you. Waiting for you to "abandon all hope". This is the struggle of you and that love, and what you will do to maintain it. This is your journey beyond life, and the battle for your existence. This is your hopes and dreams and the corrosive decay of nothingness and despair. Play this game, and do everything you've ever dreamed, but whatever you do, don't let go... Because the end is the end is the...______________

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How many Fetters does Wraith have?, November 3, 2001

By 

Sevorak (Petaluma, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wraith: The Oblivion, Second Edition (Hardcover)

Argued to be the best storyteller game produced by White Wolf, Wraith, ironically, is also the first to die. Far different than any of the other storyteller games, Wraith was focused much more on emotions, or at least the focus was more apparent, which was probably where it fell short in many players' eyes. Many players of more action-packed games like Werewolf or Mage, including myself at first, scoffed and said, "Ghosts, pfft, how exciting can that be?" The answer is that it can be very exciting, but in a very different way than most are used to. Like Kevin Smith's "Clerks," it was adored by many because of how different and cerebral it was, and hated for the same reasons. If you are a fan of things that are less action based and more focused on thinking, cooperation, and emotion, I suggest you look around the internet and local hobby shops for a copy of this great game. With each new Fetter it gains, Wraith is one step further from Oblivion.