Shadows Over The South Wiki

Wraith the Oblivion 20th Core - Character build section starts on page 111
Wr20 Handbook for the Recently Deceased
Wr20 Book of Oblivion

For XP Costs: Refer to the Wiki experience_costs_guide

When requesting something not in the Core book Acroni, Merit, Flaw, ETC. please include book in pg. number. Due to how often this happens on some obscure item I will disprove them until the information is included.

*yes you get Merits and Flaws the book left them out as a mistake use sight rules for this. Also include book and Pg. Number of the Merit for me.

Banned Merits

Arcane - Not compatible with Wraith.

Shadowlands current state

The Dictum Mortuum strictly governs how Stygian wraiths can interact with the living. As a rule of thumb, they can't: communicating, using Arcanoi that allow them to breach the Shroud, or otherwise impacting the living is strictly forbidden.

Since Charon dissapeared this law holds to all except to the Deathlords and those wraiths they empower to do so on an ad hoc basis.

The reasons for the Code of the Dead is relatively complex; Charon himself was sympathetic to shroud-crossing and for many wraiths, achieving Transcendence is not possible without some interaction with the living. However, the practice of certain Arcanoi, like Puppetry, opened the door to incredible abuse. In addition, various wraiths crossed the Shroud to encourage suicides and deaths in order to increase their own portfolio and personal power.

When the character rolls a Passion to regain Pathos, you shouldn’t just let this go past as a rule of the game. Wraiths only regain Pathos by accessing their purest emotions and experiencing them; therefore, they should give demonstrable evidence of following their Passions. If a wraith is rolling against a Guilt Passion, for example, that character should be immersed in that emotion, truly experiencing it. To have a player simply say, “I’m rolling against my Guilt Passion” is, on some level, to miss the point.

Passions are not only motivations for a wraith, though. They are his most potent source of Pathos as well. Whenever a wraith experiences his Passion — that is, performs a relevant action and feels the associated emotion detailed in the Passion description — he can attempt to regain Pathos. The player rolls the Passion’s rating (difficulty 6). Each success grants 1 Pathos, up to the wraith’s normal maximum. A wraith may only tap a particular Passion in this manner once per scene.

At the Storyteller’s discretion, a wraith may also attempt to regain Pathos if he is near a mortal experiencing strong emotions of the same nature as one of his Passions. These “secondhand” feelings are much harder to tap into, however, making them a problematic source of Pathos. The player rolls the Passion rating against difficulty 8, and each success grants 1 Pathos

• A wraith can roll one of their Passion ratings at a time that Passion has been explored (difficulty 6 if the wraith is experiencing the Passion and difficulty 8 when observing others experiencing the Passion), with each success granting one point of Pathos.

• By spending one point of Pathos, a wraith regains two Corpus levels lost through normal damage (one point per turn may be spent in this way).

• By Slumbering or meditating for eight hours and spending three points of Pathos, a wraith regains one Corpus level lost through aggravated damage.

Additionally, you regain 1 pathos per night as your wraith rests and reflects.

Aggravated injuries may only be healed “naturally” if the wraith Slumbers or Meditates for eight hours and spends three Pathos points. It costs three Pathos points to heal one Corpus level of aggravated damage, and only one level can be healed in this fashion every eight hours.

Bashing damage actually repairs itself on its own, as the wraith’s emotional state slowly knits itself back together. A wraith recovers one Corpus level of bashing damage every hour, even if he is engaged in other activities during that time. Being punched in the face hurts, even as a ghost, but it’s still a lot easier to recover from it than being mauled by Spectral claws.

A wraith who has suffered lethal damage, or who wishes to heal bashing damage more quickly than every hour must resort to other options for healing their wounds. As the Corpus is itself a reflection of the Psyche’s emotional drive, a wraith may spend one point of Pathos to immediately regain two Corpus levels of bashing damage or one Corpus level of lethal damage. Unless otherwise allowed by special powers or circumstances, only a single point of Pathos may be spent per turn in this fashion. As long as the wraith has Pathos to spend and is capable of even a slight bit of concentration, she may heal herself. The Usury Arcanos also offers the ability to repair Corpus damage, one of the many reasons the Guild remains highly sought after (if not terribly trusted).

The Tempest does not consist of mere wind, clouds, and water, like the storms of the Skinlands. It is made of broken glass, magma, nightmares, acid, burning plasm, and any other horrific substance one can imagine. Also, unlike essentially two-dimensional storms which sit on an Earthly sea, the Tempest exists in three dimension; to most travellers passing through the Tempest, however, the storm appears to be two-dimensional.

wraith must roll Perception + Empathy (difficulty 5 + Bell rating). Success means he can differentiate and react accordingly, and is immune to this effect for the remainder of the storm. Failure means that the wraith loses 1 Willpower as the cries eat away at his resolve, and he may take some action to investigate (though not at the expense of others). A botch on this roll means the wraith becomes convinced that he hears the voice of a loved one in need of rescue, no matter how illogical this belief might be, and ventures out into the storm to search for them unless he is forcibly restrained. He will also attempt to call out loudly to this loved one unless silenced by others, which can draw attention from nearby Spectres.

System: During a scene where this hazard is active, roll half the normal damage dice for the Maelstrom. (Affected wraiths still roll soak normally.) Any unsoaked damage suffered is subtracted from a wraith’s Pathos points rather than his Corpus levels. Should the victim run out of Pathos points, remove Willpower points instead, with the usual Harrowing consequences if their Willpower points are depleted.

System: A wraith who is exposed to searing lightning must roll her highest Fetter rating against a difficulty of 5 + Maelstrom rating. The Storyteller may lower the difficulty of the roll if the wraith takes measures to protect her eyes. Success means that she is able to shake off the memory flash and act normally. Failure means that the wraith takes a +2 penalty to all difficulties for a number of turns equal to the Maelstrom’s rating, as it becomes difficult to discern the past from the present. A botch on this roll means the wraith is not just distracted but actively retreats into the memory for a number of turns equal to the Maelstrom’s rating. She translates her surroundings and other characters in the vicinity into her memory as best she can, and is treated as stunned for the purposes of taking effective action. Each turn, she may spend a Willpower point and make another roll to attempt to snap out of it; if successful, she still suffers a +2 penalty on difficulties for the Maelstrom’s rating in turns as lingering images distract her.

• The Tempest: All actions using Mental Traits are subject to +1 difficulty (maximum 9) while in the Tempest, since the moaning winds and buffeting turbulence make concentration and communication challenging. A Maelstrom may apply additional modifiers and may even inflict damage to those caught within (p. 286).

• These great storms (often believed to be spinoffs from a single) are worse than the tempest and sometimes bleeds into it. The strength of this storm varies from place to place and also from time to time. In general places where the Shroud is the weakest tend to be where it is calmest. Therefore places in the Shadowlands around ancient holy sites and the like are the safest even if not completely safe. When someone calls the tempest a Ghost storm it usually means they are one few things can move along in ghost storm unhindered and since its often indistinguishable from the tempest and visa versa travers at your peril.

* note Ferrymen, certain Halaku (Lore of Spirit 2 or greater) , certain Reborn (they have arts), and Wraith with (Argos) aka the Harbingers all have varying abilities to see, or travel these Storms.

• System - At its weakest the storm causes 8 dice of lethal damage every turn a spirit / soul is caught in it. At the height of its power it deals twice that.

If you want your wraith to be in a guild you can not start with a status (guild) background higher than 2 at character creation.

'Great/ High Guilds' Highly Respected Members of Stygia. They keep the order and balance within Stygia

Artificers *Soul-forging is a necessary component in Stygia's economy and justice system. One of the oldest guilds and secondary to Charon himself.

Masquers *Soul merchants. Can't have an empire without goods.

Pardoners *Without Castigation, Stygia would've collapsed long ago without no chance to recover from Oblivion.

Usurers *Their guild specific Arcanoi is priceless, however, after the breaking of the guilds, they push to reclaim their former glory.

'Working Guilds' They earn their keep by being the middle class of Stygia. They earn their living through their Arcanoi and their use of it.

Chanteurs *Due to their mastery of Keening, they are seen as a good source of entertainment and are excused due to their fun and worthwhile nature.

Harbingers *A great asset to Stygia through their mastery of Argos. They are the messengers and guides of the underworld. Without them, many would be lost to the tempest. They are not considered a great house due to their focus of individual efforts than guild work.

Oracles *Charon has their back and they're very well organized. Nobody likes it or will admit it, but they're here to stay.

Sandmen *Same reason the Chanteurs are allowed. They're a good source of entertainment due to the nature of their guild's primary Arcanoi.

'Criminal Guilds' Illegal due to their clear violation of the Dictum Mortuum and breakers of Stygian Law by default. Being apart of the guild itself will not result in immediate soul forging, but abuse or flagrant use of the Arcanoi may dictate such an action outright.

Haunters *The very nature of this guild is to violate the Dictum Mortuum. The sentence is immediate soul-forging upon being caught if you are a high ranking member.

Monitors *Fetters are precious. If only they would not be so paranoid, they'd be invaluable members of Stygia.

Spooks *Undead Mafia….enough said.

Proctors *Self-absorbed wraiths that wish to interact with the skinlands similar to Haunters.

Puppeteers *On the lamb since they are by far not tolerated anymore after the falling out with Stygia. They are unusually in the skinlands and hanging out with risen when they can.

'Forbidden Guilds' The “Lesser Guilds”. Were not invited to sign the Compact of the Guilds and are hunted without mercy and face immediate soul-forging. Hide your marks and your abilities if you enter Stygia.

Alchemists *Formally attached with the Artificers, Alchemists got screwed over hard after the breaking and fled underground.

Mnemoi *Formally the judges of Stygia, they were run out and immediately put on as public enemy number one for being corrupt and unjust. The fate for any is soul-forging. There will be no discussion, only death. You are the ire of all wraiths.

Solicitors *Never really a guild. The mercs of all the guilds and were not affected by the breaking, merely allowed them to switch locations.

Legions - Those in bold are the most commonly seen around Stark.

Iron Legion, headquartered at the Seat of Shadows and overseen by the Ashen Lady. The Iron Legion is comprised of the victims of Age.

Skeletal Legion, headquartered on the Seat of Dust and overseen by the Skeletal Lord. The Skeletal Legion is comprised of those taken by Disease

Grim Legion, headquartered on the Seat of Burning Waters and overseen by the Smiling Lord. The Grim Legion is comprised of the victims of Violence

Penitent Legion, headquartered on the Seat of Succor and overseen by the Laughing Lady. The Penitent Legion is comprised of the victims of Madness

Emerald Legion, headquartered on the Seat of Thorns and overseen by the Emerald Lord. The Emerald Legion is comprised of those victims of Happenstance

Silent Legion, headquartered on the Seat of Silence and overseen by the Quiet Lord. The Silent Legion is comprised of those victims of Despair

Legion of Paupers, headquartered on the Seat of Golden Tears and overseen by the Beggar Lord. The Legion of Paupers is comprised of those victims of Mystery and whoever the Beggar Lord can get away with taking.

Legion of Fate, headquartered on the Isle of Eurydice and overseen by the Ladies of Fate. The Silent Legion is comprised of those those chosen by Fate

Most Wraith think angels and demons are real not as the Fallen but more as the Angelics and Dmeonics from the wraith 20 book. They are beings that are actually Powerful Wraith that their beliefs were so that in death they became what they believed themselves to become. Those poor Wraith that come to learn of the true Fallen will usually fall into a crises. For it was the Fallen that made this Purgatory and more than a few specter and some wraith who have managed to stay off Oblivion for time untold know the truth as does Charon and the Lady of Fate.

“They look like entities out of holy writ, the Angelics lined in holy fire It doesn’t matter that the Angelics aren’t actually divine; they believe they are, and that’s the key.”