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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dykstrav" data-source="post: 5296580" data-attributes="member: 40522">Give Wraith: the Oblivion a shot.The titular characters are ghosts trapped in the Underworld. They must struggle against their urge for self-destruction ("Oblivion"), each wraith character has a shadow that impels them towards utter annihilation. If a character engages in acts of destruction, they empower their shadow and spiral downward into Oblivion much more quickly. Not only that, but it's actually sort of difficult to "kill" a ghost--if you discorporate a centurion that's chasing you down, chances are, he'll be back in a few weeks with a much bigger or otherwise more dangerous posse to take you into custody. There's the "stick" to avoid combat. You keep hurting other people, and eventually, your shadow will be strong enough to make you plunge headfirst into Oblivion. In the Underworld setting of the game, "killing" other ghosts gets you socially outcast as well... And in the Underworld, you can't survive long without friends of some sort.Wraiths also have passions and fetters, which are the purposes and physical things that tie them to the living world. For example, a character may be motivated to care for his wife from beyond the grave. He might have a passion to Care for His Wife (Love) and have her or their wedding bands as fetters. Your passions are the big thing that allows you access to your supernatural powers as a ghost, because in this setting, they survive on emotional energy. Fetters have various benefits, including being a safe place to recover and making it easier to cross the Shroud that separates the worlds of the living and the dead. There's the "carrot" to avoid combat. Characters are rewarded for tying up various story-based elements related directly to the character's background and motivations, not for killing things.In 20+ years of gaming, I've never seen a game that ties character background and motivation so concretely to the character's abilities in the game. It's absolutely brilliant and quite possibly my favorite RPG ever. I heartily encourage you to give it a look.I will warn you, however... Wraith isn't terribly popular with many players for many of the reasons above. I've had little luck getting D&D players to try Wraith, partially for the perception that their character has already "lost" on the basis of being dead to begin with. I don't understand that, but I've heard it several times. Many people also don't enjoy actually designing characters (from a narrative standpoint, that is), asking people to describe a character's emotional complexities usually elicits blank stares or derisive statements about "artsy" games. There's also the bleakness and tension of the setting. A character either ties up his loose ends and passes on or is dragged down into utter destruction. Not everyone enjoys powerful drama or the depressing nature of playing a ghost.</blockquote>

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