Rating: Summary: How many Fetters does Wraith have? Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: GREAT GAME! Review: As a player, I love the World of Darkness series from White Wolf. I have not yet had the pleasure of Storytelling a game, but I hope that will change soon. Wraith: The Oblivion is put together very well (AND IT'S ALSO SCARY!). The character creation sytem is not for the lazy gamers, it actually forces the players to think. (Some of the people I play with don't like to think all that hard, but I aim to make them be serious.) Anyway, you really need to think about your character, unlike in Mage where all you have to do is give the guy disgusting amounts of magick to make him good and fun to play. I found the theme of Wraith to be a bit disturbing, with all the darkness and depression and whatnot, so I believe I'm going to grey the World of Darkness a bit in my attempt at Storytelling. I hope it all works out. Overall, I think that Wraith is one of the better games of the sieries, even if the Werewolves can tear people limb from limg or the Mages can warp reality itself. Congratulations, White Wolf.
Rating: Summary: Bleak and brilliant... Review: 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...______________
Rating: Summary: Deadly Cool Review: If you are still playing "Supervampire" or "Teenage Mutant Werewolves" , it's time you discovered the dark (under)world of Wraith. It's probably the darkest game in WoD, but you are not just restricted with tragic gloom, Wraith can be played on many different levels. Crow, Mad Max, Ghost, Beetlejuice are some of the influences. ýf you are a power-player, you'll be glad to hear that Wraiths are probably the most powerful race in the WoD. In addition, the other baddies like Wyrm and Nephandi are just minions of the Neverborn, embodiments of Oblivion. And which other game has such concepts like : nuclear explosions in the afterlife, or ghostly pilots in dogfights with demonic spectres ! Try Wraith, you will like it .
Rating: Summary: Engaging background in a well developed system Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: White wolf needs more games like this all-accessible tragedy Review: 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...
Rating: Summary: Passion and horror Review: Though it's one of the hardest WoD games 2 play, it's my second favorite only surpassed by Mage.In Wraith you must face the feeling of having lost a lot, and the fear of losing a lot more. As a ghost you have to look into the living world with your Passions still atached to it, and many times you'll have to watch impotent some scene which increases your Passions. As a ghost you are made of pure Passion, after all. A tragic game that makes you comfront your darker side: your Shadow (which, by the way, is played by another player to better roleplay the eternal conflict within a Wraith). This is not a game that can be taken lightly, but if you're ready for the most passionate game ever, give Wraith a try.
Rating: Summary: Slipping into Oblivion Review: To this date I still have every original paperback release of every WoD games as well as their subsiquent hard back re-releases, but in all this time only one of these games was ever able to capture my heart and stir my emotions; Wraith the Oblivion. Unlike other games in the WoD series wraith centers around feelings and emotions. Where vampires drink blood to survive Wraiths my tangle with pathos to survive. Where Werewolves truggle against the mighty Wyrm wraiths must fight their own inner demons, less they be swept into oblivion. Unfortunately, Wraith: The Oblivion is all but gone. The WoD's has pretty much shunned Wraith for it's core games; Vampire, Werewolf, and Mage. However wraith will always be my favorite of the series and I would strong encourage everyone who has played an WoD games to please purchase this title and give it a try.
Rating: Summary: The darkest of the dark Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: It's great, but very dark Review: Whereas Vampire and the other White Wolf games are fanciful, romantic Neo-gothic entertainment, Wraith is pure, true, old-fashioned Gothic. It taps right into our fears about death, afterlife, our evil sides... As in life, there is no proof that there's a way out other than madness or oblivion. The only hope anyone can hold is faith. If you go in for darkness and depression, you'll probably enjoy it immensely. It reminds me of Call of Cthulhu, where your character is guaranteed to go insane and die before they complete their quest. Even if that's not your cup of tea, it can be very entertaining if you're running multiple White Wolf systems, and it's a great source of background information for the other systems.
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