History TabletopGame / WraithTheArising

* DeadToBeginWith: The entire premise.

* EnemyWithin: The Shadow.

* FreudianSlip: One of Thorns allows the Shadow to take control of the Wraith's voice for one breath, and say mean-spirited things or point out denied truths. This Thorn is known as "Speak Evil" (see MonkeyMoralityPose, below).
* FunctionalMagic -- The Numina.
* GenericEthnicCrimeGang -- Quite a few of the Freewraiths are actual criminals by the standards of the Order. They even go so far as to permanently tattoo their "colors" onto their members' bodies.

* IntangibleMan: Wraiths exist in a state known as ''Twilight'', where they may freely pass through physical objects and are invisible to the living, unless they wish to be seen. A Wraith's ethereal flesh is referred to as ''Corpus''.
** Taking cues directly from ''Orpheus'', even the most recently deceased Wraith is able to materialize and pass (mostly) for human, partially negating much of ''Oblivion'''s angst about being separated from the living. However, simple manifestations are not nearly as useful as using Numina, as the Wraith is cold, pale, physically weak, and unless they achieve a CriticalHit the effect lasts only for a few moments.

* MeatPuppet: These can be created using the Bios Numen's Path of Control.
* MonkeyMoralityPose: This is reference and inverted by a trio of Thorns: Speak Evil (see FreudianSlip, above), See Evil, and Hear Evil. The latter two allow the Shadow to manipulate the Wraith's senses to a certain degree.

* {{Shadowland}}: Places where the Deadworld and the Liveworld meet are known as Shadowlands. Created by negative emotional energy, ghosts may freely interact with the living in these places as though they were fully solid. Due to their exceptional creepiness, ghosts also tend to stay away from these places.

* TheTheocracy: The Order. They worship ancient Etruscan deities, and venerate Charun as their founder.

* UnfinishedBusiness: All ghosts possess ''Anchors'': objects, people, or places that were important to them in life (or became so at their death). A ghost cannot exist without their anchors, which provide them with the essence they need to stay around. If all of a ghost's anchors are destroyed, the ghost simply vanishes, never to be seen again.
** Each anchor has an associated emotion. When the Wraith recharges their Essence, this emotion will color the Essence gained.

* GenreLaunch: Tremlett once jokingly stated the game's genre was "Gothic Horror Survivalist Heartbreak Psychic Trauma Brainfart Disco" and "Flying-By-The-Butt."

* PoisonousFriend: Shadows claim, and often aspire, to be just this. They certainly want to achieve ToxicFriendInfluence.

-> ''In the beginning was The Word.''\\
''The Word was Light - The Light was Life.''\\

* TheLostWoods: This is the ''de facto'' state of the Deadlands outside of Necropoli (cities claimed by the Concords). Wraiths who venture outside of the cities are liable to encounter the Damned, Reapers, Dark Walkers, and stranger creatures.

-> ''In the beginning was The Word.''
-> ''The Word was Light - The Light was Life.''
-> ''The Gods found them Good and Gold.''

* {{Seer}}: Ghosts with the Fate Numen, to varying degrees. Fate is divided into seeing what ''will'' happen, influencing what ''may'' happen, and just wandering until you get a ContrivedCoincidence.

* AncientTomb -- The Catacombs are essentially a gigantic network of tombs, accessible only to Wraiths. This overlaps slightly with DungeonCrawling, as one of the reasons for entering the Catacombs is to acquire Relics (ghostly doubles of Liveworld objects). The Catacombs are also home to religious shrines.
* AndIMustScream -- The Freewraiths use this as a threat to those who serious piss them off.
** Ossification is, thankfully, the exact opposite. See AngstComa, below.
* AngstComa -- Some Wraiths come to think that this mockery of existence is pointless, and just stop interacting with the world. As their activity slows down and stops, their bodies begin to ''Ossify'', their Corpus turning as white and unyielding as marble, cobwebs and chains appearing around their bodies to physically bind them where they stand. If the process is not stopped, the Wraith eventually turns into a lifeless statue, and forever falls Asleep unless charitable Wraiths decide to wake her up.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence -- If a Wraith can resolve their ties to life, without falling prey to their Shadow or to Ossification, they can move on to the next life. Wraiths call this fabled goal ''Transcendance'', but few of them take it seriously.
* BackFromTheDead -- Rejuvenating and reanimating a corpse, ''any'' corpse, is a simple matter of possessing the right Bios Arts.
* BadassPreacher -- One nickname for the Pardoners is "shotgun priests." Sometimes quite literally.
* BazaarOfTheBizarre -- Wraith society often runs these, referring to them simply as ''Markets.'' The Freewraiths have a virtual monopoly on these, as they jealousy guard the secrets of the Shaping Numen, which allows users to create nearly any objects imaginable out of Corpus (ghost flesh).
* BeautyEqualsGoodness -- Wraiths will begin to slowly grow uglier and uglier if their Shadow becomes more and more powerful, and we mean ''ugly.'' The horrifying and grotesque appearances of the Damned reflect their black, tortured souls.
* BiggerOnTheInside -- Within the labyrinthine depths of the Catacombs, distances often behaves strangely. For example, if a Wraith has visited a particular landmark before, they will find it quicker to travel there on subsequent visits. Hypothetically, the Catacombs may be nearly infinite in size.
* BodyHorror -- Higher levels of Embody can create some truly freakish visual effects. Meanwhile, higher levels of the Bios Path of Change allow the Wraith to ''severely'' alter their host's body. The Shaping Path of Flesh can allow Wraiths the do the same thing to ''themselves''; using Shaping to do this sort of thing is typically prohibited by the Concords, since extreme transformations can easily skirt the line into the horrific appearances of the Damned. The Damned are always freakishly hideous and unnatural-looking, and the symptoms of Thorns can cause lesser effects on ordinary Wraiths.
* CanonDiscontinuity -- As ''Arising'' was written when the new ''World of Darkness'' was still only a year or two old, it contradicts the information presented in ''Geist: The Sin-Eaters'' and ''Book of the Dead''. This is mandatory, as the standard setting precludes the existence of any kind of spiritual sequel to ''Oblivion''.
* ChurchMilitant -- The Pardoners. They wage war on the Shadow.
* CouncilOfAngels -- The Order and the Believers consider the Ferrymen to be this, but for different reasons as their respective religions are vastly different. The Ferrymen are quite mysterious because so little is known about them, and they refuse to answers questions related to religion other than to say some variation of the phrase "have faith."
* DeadAllAlong -- Sleepers are often unaware that they are, in fact, dead. This always their first shock if they go through an Awakening.
* DeadToBeginWith -- The entire premise.
* DealWithTheDevil -- The Shadow can offer these. Whatever you do, ''do not accept them'', no matter how appetizing they appear.
* {{Delinquents}} -- The Order considers the Freewraiths to be like this, and some of them are. However, most of the Freewraiths are simply not interested in following the rules of Order, and are otherwise generally decent people.
* DreamWeaver -- The Fear Numen's Path of Nightmares allows for visiting and controlling dreams, of both the living ''and'' the dead.
* EldritchAbomination -- This is the standard for the Damned, the Reapers and the Dark Walkers, as well as the strange creatures that sometimes appear in the Wilderness follow this formula. It's possible that this is true for the Ferrymen, but they are quite benevolent compared to other examples.
* ElectromagneticGhosts -- The Decay Numen's Path of Animation allows for possessing objects, and certain Arts allow for riding across telephone lines or surfing the web.
* EnemyWithin -- The Shadow.
* EnergyEconomy -- Essence is considered a valuable commodity, and Wraiths will trade different flavors of it for favors and other rewards. It is common practice to charge the Wraiths that live in a given Concord's Domain (Wraiths unaffiliated with that Concord are usually given leeway), payments usually taking the form of Essence. Favors are also a valuable commodity, their fulfillment being an actual ''law'' called the Rule of Four, and anyone who doesn't payback their debts will have to answer to the Magistrates in charge.
* EpiphanicPrison -- The state of being (un)dead. No one really knows why they're a ghost, and everyone has their own answer for escaping.
* FanArt -- Italian artist Darcad drew [[http://darcad.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=believers#/d19wvbi this sketch of his Believer character.]] Taz Jurs also painted [[http://wraithproject.cattail.nu/archives/tazreaperbluebig.jpg this image of a Reaper]].
* FateWorseThanDeath -- There are quite a few of these, actually. A Wraith might become [[TheSchizophreniaConspiracy Lost]], [[TheHeartless Damned]], [[AngstComa Ossified]], or [[AndIMustScream paralyzed in a state of perpetual agony]].
* FinalDeath -- If a Wraith suffers enough damage to their corpus, they can be permanently destroyed. This happens rarely however, and the Wraith is usually forced into a temporary state of "limbo," where they must fight with their Shadow for the right to reform at one of their Anchors. If the Shadow succeeds, however, they cease to exist.
* FreudianSlip -- One of Thorns allows the Shadow to take control of the Wraith's voice for one breath, and say mean-spirited things or point out denied truths. This Thorn is known as "Speak Evil" (see MonkeyMoralityPose, below).

* GenreLaunch -- Tremlett once jokingly stated the game's genre was "Gothic Horror Survivalist Heartbreak Psychic Trauma Brainfart Disco" and "Flying-By-The-Butt."
* GhostAmnesia -- Obviously, those who died by Mystery do not remember the details of their death. Sleepers are trapped in a perpetual state of this (see TraumaInducedAmnesia, below).
* GhostlyGoals -- All ghosts initially start out as Type As, which are colloquially known as Sleepers. The role of Type B ghosts is fulfilled by the worst of the Haunters.
* GhostStory -- The premise, except that the main characters are the ghosts (and aware of this fact), as opposed to being the people who are haunted.
* HauntedHouse -- Unsurprisingly, Wraiths tend to live in these. Any anchor that happens to be a building, a copse of trees, a pool of water, a tour bus, or any location really, is known as a ''Haunt''.
* HauntedTechnology -- Wraiths can have mechanical or electronic objects as Anchors, which will exhibit weird behavior even when the Wraith isn't physically present. The Decay Numen allows a Wraith to enter and eventually control such objects at will, including traveling across power lines or even through the internet.
* HaveYouSeenMyGod -- According to the Order's official history, their founder was the Etrsucan god Charun. Charun vanished millennia ago beyond the Barrier, claiming he would one day return, so the Order steadfastly awaits his return.
* TheHeartless -- If a Wraith falls to her Shadow, she becomes one of the ''Damned'' and falls across the Barrier, occasionally returning in a monstrous form to to wreak havoc on any ghosts and living they can get their claws on. The Damned are insane and homicidal (but ''not'' stupid, having the ability to wait patiently and lay traps for the unwary), even attacking other Damned if they ever come face-to-face (which is the most reliable way to kill one).
* HeroicBSOD -- A Wraith is provoked into one of these by losing an Anchor, performing a cruel and selfish action without remorse, or seeing anything that reminds them of their death. This gives the Shadow a free chance at taking control of their body or forcing the Wraith into a Harrowing, depending on the stimulus.
* IntangibleMan / {{Invisibility}} -- Wraiths exist in a state known as ''Twilight'', where they may freely pass through physical objects and are invisible to the living, unless they wish to be seen. A Wraith's ethereal flesh is referred to as ''Corpus''.

* ISeeDeadPeople -- Mediums, Projectors, and certain Consorts can perceive Wraiths. [[HilarityEnsues This can lead to some interesting situations.]]
* JacobMarleyApparel -- Objects that are buried with the deceased (regardless of whether they become ghosts or not) will develop ghostly doubles known as ''Relics'', and as long as the object continues to remain mostly intact in the Liveworld, the Relic will continue to exist for use by ghosts.
* LighterAndSofter -- Compared to ''Oblivion'', at the least. Ghosts are no longer hopelessly separated from the living and slavery is no longer the norm. The reason why ''Arising'' dropped many of the structures and conventions of ''Oblivion'' was to avoid TooBleakStoppedCaring. YMMV as to how well that works.
* TheLostWoods -- This is the ''de facto'' state of the Deadlands outside of Necropoli (cities claimed by the Concords). Wraiths who venture outside of the cities are liable to encounter the Damned, Reapers, Dark Walkers, and stranger creatures.
* MagicalSociety -- Each of the Concords is one of these, more or less. Some of them even have proprietary powers.
* MalevolentMaskedMen -- Wraiths frown on the use of masks, as these make it more difficult to use perception-based Affinities and Numina on the wearer. Wraiths place great emphasis on being exactly who and what you are, and anyone wearing a mask might be a potential Damned soul lying in wait.
* {{Mana}} -- Wraiths cannot exist without a continuous source of ''Essence'' (spiritual energy), which they usually obtain from their Anchors (or someone else's). Less commonly, they obtain it from the emotions produced when they haunt the living, when it is given freely by other Wraiths (using the Shaping Numen), or by stealing it (also using the Shaping Numen). Essence is used to power the effects of Numina and more quickly repair damage to a Wraith's Corpus.
* MeatPuppet -- These can be created using the Bios Numen's Path of Control.
* MonkeyMoralityPose -- This is reference and inverted by a trio of Thorns: Speak Evil (see FreudianSlip, above), See Evil, and Hear Evil. The latter two allow the Shadow to manipulate the Wraith's senses to a certain degree.
* TheNecrocracy -- This is the stated purpose of the Order, and to a lesser degree the other Concords. Any city inhabited by Wraiths is known as a ''Necropolis'', and is usually split amongst multiple necrocracies in the form of the Concords. The Order and the Freewraiths are most politically-focused of the Concords.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent -- Even within the game ghosts come in several varieties. The basic division is between Sleepers (ghosts trapped in a fugue state) and Arisen (fully self-aware ghosts). The Arisen are further divided by their manner of Death. Then Wraiths can become Lost or Damned. And ''then'' there are the Ferrymen, Dark Walkers, Reapers, and whatever weird fauna from beyond the Barrier that make forays into the Wilderness.
* PlaceOfPower -- Haunts act as these, providing valuable Essence to any ghost who enters, not just the one who owns it. As a result, Haunts are considered valuable property by the Concords due to both this and the security they provide. In fact, the Concords play a complex political game known as the "Game of Houses," where they collect Haunts to increase the power of their Domains at cross-purposes to one another.
* PoisonousFriend -- Shadows claim, and often aspire, to be just this. They certainly want to achieve ToxicFriendInfluence.
* PsychologicalTormentZone -- When a Shadow accumulates enough Tainted Essence, they can attempt to force the Wraith into a ''Harrowing''. The Harrowing is a psychodrama that takes place ''inside'' the Wraith's mind, which can be a BlackBugRoom, but [[HappyPlace not always]]. At the end, the Shadow presents the Wraith with a choice, and if she fails, the Shadow gains Angst, a measure of its permanent power over the Wraith.
* TheSchizophreniaConspiracy -- The Thorn known as "Alternate Reality" (and to a lesser degree other Thorns, see MonkeyMoralityPose, above) allows a Shadow to trap her Wraith in a state of delusion, making him see, hear, and ''do'' whatever she wants him to. A Wraith in this state is known as the Lost.
* {{Seer}} -- Ghosts with the Fate Numen, to varying degrees. Fate is divided into seeing what ''will'' happen, influencing what ''may'' happen, and just wandering until you get a ContrivedCoincidence.
* {{Shadowland}} -- Places where the Deadworld and the Liveworld meet are known as Shadowlands. Created by negative emotional energy, ghosts may freely interact with the living in these places as though they were fully solid. Due to their exceptional creepiness, ghosts also tend to stay away from these places.

* {{Shapeshifting}} -- The Shaping Numen. It's divided into Flesh (creating objects out of corpus, transforming your physical features, becoming a jigsaw person, etc), Power (trading and collecting Essence), and Transmutation (converting between Corpus and Essence and vice versa).
* ShortStory -- Tremlett wrote two short stories for the game, ''[[http://wraithproject.cattail.nu/archives/0409gsslf.html Stupid Little Fears]]'' and ''[[http://wraithproject.cattail.nu/archives/0410gsunnamed.html Old Scars for New Days]]''.
* ShoutOut -- As a spiritual sequel to ''Oblivion'', this is par the course. Tremlett deliberately seeded the text with numerous Easter Eggs.

* {{Splat}} -- The way a Wraith died and what kind of personality their Shadow has play a much larger role in the rules than in ''Oblivion''. This would predict a similar trend in TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters.
* SpiritAdvisor -- Shadows often try to be these, though their "advice" is given only to further their own goals.
* SuperPoweredEvilSide -- When a Wraith becomes so angry or upset that he enters into an agreement to temporarily share power with his Shadow, known as Shadowstate. This allows the Wraith to turn his Shadow's Thorns on those around him, playing merry havoc with their perceptions of reality.
* SuperSenses -- In death, a Wraith's senses are heightened to a degree only dreamed of by the living, but they perceive the world through the lens of death: everything alive appears blurred and grey, while other ghosts stand out like beacons. Wraiths can sense the distance and depth of emotions, determine the health of objects and people, and even have brief premonitions.
* TheTheocracy -- The Order. They worship ancient Etruscan deities, and venerate Charun as their founder.
* ThresholdGuardians -- The Concords create things known as ''Terms'' to mark boundaries, using Numina like Shaping or Regis. These range across simple warning signs, intruder alarms, the ghostly equivalent of security cameras, and monoliths that can hold conversations. Some of these Terms may be the unfortunate victims of the Shaping Numen, while others manifest as feelings of dread or other programmed sensations instead of actual objects.
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness -- Judicious use of the right Thorns can result in game sessions, perhaps entire chronicles, turning into this.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia -- Ghosts spend their existence in a dreaming state called the ''Fugue'', unaware of their death and mindlessly haunting their Anchors. However, some ghosts realize the truth and wake up from this state, and these lucky (or unlucky) ghosts are known as ''Wraiths''.
* UnfinishedBusiness -- All ghosts possess ''Anchors'': objects, people, or places that were important to them in life (or became so at their death). A ghost cannot exist without their anchors, which provide them with the essence they need to stay around. If all of a ghost's anchors are destroyed, the ghost simply vanishes, never to be seen again.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen -- Tremlett had originally planned to finish much more material, but then suffered a terrible case of writer's block. The netbook is mostly playable, but is missing sections for the Order (an overview, explanations of organization, titles/duties, members, beliefs, and rituals), the Freewraiths (likewise), Ghostly Society (social roles, customs, taboos, the favors economy, mortal/wraith relations, projectors, etc), Antagonists (Reapers, Dark Walkers, stranger things, etc), Ossification, and quite a bit of other details.
* WorldWreckingWave -- Occasionally, hurricane-strength ''Storms'' will burst from across the Barrier and ravage the Deadlands for a short time. These are localized events (typically ranging from one building and its immediate surroundings to the entire necropolis) which are set off by extremely negative events in the Liveworld. Storms are usually inhabited by the Damned, and are the only times when they both appear in large numbers and ''don't'' attack each other on sight.

* LighterAndSofter -- Compared to ''Oblivion'', at the least. Ghosts are no longer hopelessly separated from the living and slavery is no longer the norm. The reason why ''Arising'' dropped many of the structures and conventions of ''Oblivion'' was to avoid DarknessInducedAudienceApathy. YMMV as to how well that works.

Because of the Shadow, all Wraiths have a risk of becoming one the ''Lost'', Wraiths who have lost touch with reality due to the meddling of their Shadows (but frighteningly, this is not always apparent to others), or one of the ''Damned'', Wraiths who have been permanently subsumed by their Shadows and exist only to cause suffering and destruction.

''[[http://wraithproject.cattail.nu/archives/wraiththearising.html Wraith: The Arising]]'' is a remake of ''WraithTheOblivion'' set in the ''NewWorldOfDarkness'', with some elements of ''{{TabletopGame/Orpheus}}'' and ''{{TabletopGame/Exalted}}: The Abyssals'', written by J. Edward Tremlett and Chris Jackson and with some illustrations by artists Taz Jurz and Lost Soul. The story behind the game's genesis is explained in its [[http://wraithproject.cattail.nu/archives/0410wtasoi.html Statement of Intent]]. A compendium of the book has been created for download here [[http://faust91xroleplayingpage.weebly.com/wraith-the-arisen.html]]

Every Wraith is visually and mentally marked by the way they died. Each ''Death'' carries it own benefits and flaws: