Customer Reviews

Wraith: The Oblivion, Second Edition

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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...______________

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.

This RPG is, quite simply, the greatest of its kind. White Wolf went out of its way and beyond the call of duty to put this gorgeous piece of work on the shelves. The fact that it's out of print is just appalling. This book is beautifully written and the art is amazing, in every sense of either word. The atmospheric darkness and overwhelming despair of the book itself is oddly uplifting compared to the forced grittiness or plagiarism of most other RPG books. The great bits of this book (and game) are the humanist bits. The fact that you're playing a character who, regardless of race, creed, whatever he/she did in their life, they are all so uniquely (well, like real people, as unique as everyone else) and subtly damned, in a way the vampires and Werewolves of the rest of the WW world can't even dream of. This game's only fault is that running it requires an incredible amount of concentration, a huge degree of single-mindedness and very good knowledge on how to set an atmosphere. If you can find a truly good storytller (like we were lucky enough to)who can give his (or in our case, her) own touch to an already spectacular world and you're willing to possibly soil yourself from fear or break down crying from a role-playing game, then this is for you. This book follows the White Wolf traditions of actually being a fun and involving (if chillingly accurate and intensely personal) read. The art is all along the high-contrast black on white lines that a book like this demands, and it works perfectly. The writing has the somber feel of being so meticulously done that the writers mustn't have gotten sleep for weeks. The continuing story of the wraith writer separating each chapter is heartfelt and remniscient of the work of Neil Gaiman, and the long passages describing every aspect of the fleshed out land of the dead are so harsh and real that this book gives new meaning to role-playing. So, basically, if you're into a game that reallly, truly is a character driven game, this is the one for you. If only it were still in print...

Each of White Wolf's games, even the little ones, like mummy or freak legion, are beautiful efforts to focus play around a single role-played theme, and the effects of the gameplay, the character creation, and even the obscure little optional rules in the index act to support and strengthen those themes. Wraith is truly a perfect example of this. The game does not simply present a depressing setting, then ask players to "get in character". The character creation process is involving and requires deep thought. The rules effects that come into play from game one act to draw the players in, and the character's emotions out. And each successive twist and turn of the game builds depth and meaning into what started out as a very gothic and thoughtful environment. In wraith, there is horror and danger in every form you can imagine, from the slow, personal draw of your own mind turned against you, to the shrieking nightmares of Oblivion's spectres, to the opressive weight of the hierarchy of Charon, to the mind numbing immensity of Oblivion itself. 31 flavors of fear, served to order. If you like horror games, this is your ticket.

Simultaneously, I wholeheartedly agree with previous reviewers in stressing Wraith's role-playing aspects. This game will actively kill hack and slash gaming, not only the characters, but the game style itself. All power, healing, existance and ability rely on you acting out the deepset needs and passions of your character. All that stuff that you make up when you generate a character that usually winds up on the third or fourth page and gets ignored by the other players is now at center stage, guaranteed vital, and everybody cares. The interpersonal interactions are pushed to the limit, crying, raging, and even falling in love are totally believable results of this masterpiece of pole playing.

Pick up your copy before it fades away forever.

When I first heard of Wraith I was a bit put off by it, I thought "oh great an rpg thats gone all goth and crap." But then my husband urged me to read it saying it just seemed like a game i'd like given my own touch of the morbid. So he bought me the core book. I sat down and read it and was plauged by nightmares for days enough so I couldn't bring myself near the book. BUT to me that showed how good it was, if it got to me that much. So we sat down and made a character and played. It didnt last long, but it was the most intense role-playing session i've ever had. I've not played since that time though, since its a great game and quite dark. It was just to much for me drew up to much pain for me to really play without breaking into tears.

This game though is truly wonderful, from the writing to the images. It stays with you even after you've set it down. Its not for the faint of heart, or for those who want to "kill everything that moves"..It requires more actual role-playing and a really deep connection to your character. You have to be able to step into the shoes of someone who has died and must watch everything they love fade away, while at the same time still try to hold onto it in someway so as to not succumb to the very darkness that resides within themselves. And I also recommend NOT making the painful mistake of playing a character based on yourself..Especially if your storyteller knows you intimately well down to the darkest bits. While it may make for WONDERFUL roleplaying, think hard if you can truly handle having your own flaws played out, your own fears pulled forth, your own mistakes brought to light. If you can handle that, then I'd say do it, because it really does make the experience far more intense. But if not, i'd say stick to made up characters :) Its easier on the mind.

Still a shame this game died out. It really was one of their best, none of their "ghost" games that followed it (Orpheus, Sin-eaters, and the likes) Ever came close to this level of pure emotion and feeling.

Wraith is the ultimate in personal horror. You create a dead character, control that charcter as it fights it's darker half, and the end is never what you could possibly imagine. In a previous review someone mentioned 'saying Wraith was a gothic game would be to say Lord of the Rings is a story about elves.' That is the truest comparison one can make about Wraith. If you want a game that you pick up and play with very simple rules and stories, go play DnD, if you want a slugfest, get Werewolf, if you want a game in which you must always use your head before your fists and be nine steps ahead of your darker half just to get by with your sanity intact, purchase Wraith. You won't be dissappointed.

This book is nothing short of brilliant. The mechanics of actual gameplay itself are remarkably easy to come to grips with. This system allows for a depth of Character creation that I personally see as one of the more appealing aspects of the system. The publishers have also gone to town with the artwork in the book also, creating a marvellous ambience through out the entire book. My one dissapointment is that in some ways the more advanced technical aspects of the game are a little hard to remember, but then it wouldnt be called "advanced" if it wasn't atleast a little challenging. This system has replay value that is off the scale. Definitely good value for money. A word of warning though, if you are subject to severe depression, or simply get depressed easily, then i'd advise you to steer clear of the book, unless you enjoy being in that state of mind for prolonged periods of time.

Wraith is an excellent role-playing game. It is one of the few where you really have to play in-character. It's very intense. My friend was in a game where people were crying by the end of it. I would recomend it to experienced role-players. This edition of it does have some flaws, though. I think they should have expanded a little in a few areas, there's even a very important section missing. But it doesn't hurt the game too much. Wraith remains my all time fav!

Vampire explores the depth of your character, Werewolf explores your dedication, Mage your resourcefulness. Wraith simply searches out the point you crack, and give in. The setting is darkly superb and detailed. The gameplay is an exercise in psychosis. Quite radically different in it's gameplay to any other game I've played to date, and despite it being superbly intense, I'm afraid it now sits gathering dust on a shelf. It's not that it's unplayable (quite the opposite), it's simply that the players (and myself) refuse to play it. If you feel you can hack depression, and the intense conflict (in party) that Wraith generates, then play away... The experience is a double edged sword.