Uncensored version is up FOR FREE on Patreon: www.patreon.com/WilliamSRD (not a direct link to the video, in compliance with UA-cam's rules about linking age restricted content)
Thank you everyone for your support after the original video got age restricted. The wave of affirmation and patreon sign ups really helped me get through the worst of it. I originally said I wouldn't censor the video, but further analysis from a few viewers suggested it was probably one SPECIFIC thing that did it. So here's the adjusted video, with some alteration, but the core of the video intact. Thanks once again to all of you, I couldn't keep doing this without my amazing community.
I was introduced to your channel by the original upload, and I've watched a few of your other videos since then. Watching this one again for the engagement.
I almost thought I was insane when the wraith video disappeared when I was midway watching it. UA-cam sure has been making alot of hurdles for long format content creators. Sulmatul had a horrible time trying to get their most recent video up, like several edits and uploads and ultimately hosting a longer version elsewhere.
What I think makes wraith so interesting is the fact that it has the highest chance of happening to people within its world. You have to get bit by a vampire to become one, you have got to be born with lycan ancestry to become a Garou... but to become a Wraith? Live with enough regrets that you can't rest in peace.
And even if you already vampire or garou or other paranormal no-more- human,you still can die and have second chance as ghost. Well,until debilz... Got soul drinked by vampire or died from ither soul annihilation ways.
I know the UA-cam system can be really difficult to get over when you reupload a video, so here is a like and a comment from me as I know interactions help with the algorithm.
Here is some comment about how I feel very strongly about things, engagement is strong on this video, the algorithm would sure benefit from showing it to a lot of people...
Quick note, Wraith like most of its contemporaries did get a 20th-anniversary edition RPG book which was Kickstarted for nearly $300,000 which blew past it's 50,000 dollar goal and a couple of Wraith 20th sourcebooks to go with it. As well as a 20th-anniversary short story compilation, there is a small devoted fandom even now.
"[...] you're complicit, aren't you? What did you think those coins were made of? Didnt you wonder; _why they weep_ ?" As a relative newcomer to the Wraith mythos / lore, this writing gave me absolute chills!
I was so into the dark theme and all the amazing story and then ghost Godzilla came and Doomslayers and Helldivers and I couldn't help but laugh out loud! How did it turn into this OMG. It's cool though haha!
WoD always escalate their ancient conspiracies. If one line has thousand year old vampires then the mages need to fight over the fabric of reality and the end game book gets antediluvians driving around in a giant rotting kaiju. It can't stay a game about keeping the old house you built yourself from being developed into a mall.
@@adcon00 You caught me. Only felt appropriate since my old comment went with the old version of the video, and I wanted to give the algorithm its coveted engagement. lol
Side note: Geist 2e absolutely rules and you should play it. Rather than being a game about being sad about being dead, it's a game about having a second chance and helping the people who didn't get one. Fight fascism to make the afterlife a better place, or help ghosts pass on and gamble that the real afterlife is better than what they have now. Connect with another person who only remembers little pieces of who they are and wants to rebuild themself. It's... it just rules.
@@jordanetherington1922 Perhaps, but it also has a serious pile of horror. The Underworld wants you and everyone you love to dance to its tune. There's a nursery where children are forced to toil in a furnace burning their toys, an undead university that lures you in with promises of knowledge and then wipes your memory so you keep studying forever without ever learning, and truly monstrous people who see all death, yours included, as something to exploit.
@@jordanetherington1922 Indeed. And that's part of why it's so needed. Like Hunter it's a manifestation of the consequences of other supernaturals' actions. It's basically the Anti-Vampire in that you died and it made you closer to humanity and hate the people who manipulate and exploit the people like you for profit. There's ways to become a monster, but by default your strength comes from connecting with someone who is lost and broken.
Or, exploit ghosts for fun and profit, steal shit from the afterlife to increase your power, and ignore that the geist you're bound to is claiming to be Jack the Ripper and wants you to kill people for his amusement. Or, be a ghost-fascist and make the afterlife worse because you can. So many ways to play, most of them will expose the players who can't distinguish between PC and Player.
You gotta love how every World/Chronicles of Darkness setting is bonkers if you think on it too hard and delve too deep into the lore. Wraith just commits more than many can handle.
Honestly I don't think Hunter: The Reckoning is that bonkers at least as far as I know (which admittedly isn't much). The craziest I ever saw it was the fact it connected to all the other games but best summarized as "get pissed and go shoot those monsters with this boomstick you found!" Then again, I am probably oversimplifying it. Which is probably pretty likely
@@Starcraftgamer97 that's fair. Hunter isn't bonkers on the outset, but it is meant to dovetail with the actual Monster play books. So, it's the easiest to get into if played while ignoring the implications and societies the Hunters interact with or interfere with. My point still stands that, if you scratch too hard at the surface, the depth of the world lore is bonkers though lol
@@michaelrigg3623 Oh no doubt. I think that actually works pretty well with the Hunters. All the other books have such massive worlds (and the HtR books do as well) but the Hunters are boiled down to killing that Warlock or Vampire nest with sawed off in their trunk. They know as much as they themselves learn or share with each other. Truly Lovecraftian to some degree because the deeper one goes in their hunt, the more they start seeing beyond their comprehension. I've never played WoD but I have always had a tip of the iceberg type interest that led me to collect as much of those Orange Books as I can. It kind of led me to create my own game in Call of Cthulhu that sort of crosses a couple of ideas together that all share the same vibe: Supernatural, Dresden Files, and HtR. Some grim and gritty monster hunting that transcends into the unfathomable cosmos around the players with a potentially pulpy end game.
This video helps me realize about wraith. Learning its lore and it troubled publication. And it giving me ideas for my writing. Thanks for acknowledging and bringing attention WoD franchise, even this specific series, to youtube. Since it has a tough time getting attention
Repost from my original comment on the unlisted vid. I've played Wraith: The Oblivion more than most other Storytellers have, but the group has always been small; one at the least, two optimally and four at max. I found that this game works best with two players, where both players make one dedicated character and their shadow. Each session the players take turns between themselves to swap as Wraith and Shadow, or Spectre and Psyche, and they follow personal stories of horror and Transcendence. Another way was to allow the players to play both their Wraith and Shadow as if they were two separate characters within the same body, but this can only work with trusted players who'll properly act out their dual roles. However in saying that, my best game was with four players RPing with the former method. The best Chronicle I ever had was a love story between two Wraiths (four players), it was a Gohic adventure that consisted of 80 in-game years and about 60 odd sessions. Involving Immortals, Mages, Garou and the encroaching Oblivion that ended with the two Wraiths reincarnation via Transcendence. The two Wraiths were a Reaper and Reaped Heretics who bonded over having lived lonely lives and turing into lovers, the Chronicles were almost entirely dedicated to these ghosly lovers finding meaning in their lonely deaths and trying to find a way to Trancend. It was my longest and most engaging tabletop game I had ever done and I've never done one like it since. Doubt I ever will again sadly... No more free time.
I love wraith the oblivion and I think its one of the strongest of world of darkness's old line games. The shadow system that everyone complains about as too evil and creating fights is only that way if everyone at the table are dicks and if the gm just lets people be overly cruel with them. When the shadow is working as intended its like having a devil on your shoulder that can give all sorts of buffs and use its set of thorns to actually help in scenes. The underworld itself is such an amazing local, with the shadowlands mirroring the living world and when places are forgotten or destroyed their dark counterparts literally sink into the ocean of emotion and memory below for a metaphysical high sea adventure and even a massive silent hill style dungeon crawl below that in the very depths of the underworld the Labyrinth. Wraith the oblivion afterlife I think is actually an incredibly narrow and limited scope of what it is actually like to be a ghost in wraith. A game set in Stygia or the shadowlands would be weird rather than pure scary in the same sort of way as Sunken city! I hope wraith gets tons more people actually interested in the game now that your video is out on it :) Great video and I'm glad its back up Will!
Add me to the list: Wraith is my favorite RPG setting (with Ars Magica a close second) and I've never played it. Bought and read a ton of the books back in the day and that was enough. Thanks for shining a pale light on such a beloved failure.
Glad/sorry to see you reupload this masterpiece of a video. I don't have time to watch it right now, but I'll put it on later to keep the UA-cam algorithm happy! Hope to see you keep making such amazing content about obscure content!
My favorite ghost??? Dude, do you ever heard of Raziel? A time traveling wraith soul devourer entity with shakesperian poetic self depressing talking in a divine conspiracy to kill his own father, his murderer, the Last Vampire, and the only possible Savior of the World where they live! If not, i would look into that...
I once saw Wraith described as "a suicide note with game mechanics" and I think that summed up the mood perfectly. I adore Wraith, especially the Risen sourcebook but in 30 years of playing World of Darkness I've never run or played in a Wraith chronicle.
I cannot believe Wraith's literal entire conceit is 'the horror of both being miserable and being aware that it's over first world problems', which is totally unplayable but very artistically interesting, and that somehow ended up morphing into "JOIN THE _DOOMSLAYERS_ TO RAID THE BEDROCK OF REALITY FOR FORTUNE AND GLORY, IT IS THE *2000'S,* BABY!". It's like the entire design department wrote the first half in the midset of depression and the second half during a manic episode where they binged all of Requiem Chevalier Vampire.
All WoD metaplots escalate in a competition with the other metaplots. All metaplots had part in WW II and nazism to a point where the Holocaust must have been run by committe.
Like other WoD lines, Wraith was part of the shared World of Darkness. Your hunters could run into a haunt. Your wraith could interact with Giovanni necromancer-vampires. Mages and garou go on their weird spirit-quests. There are the mummies off to the side. In practice, everyone sits in their niche goth ghetto with giant metaplots and conspiracies that sometimes cross and sometimes ignore each other. Maybe the mage battle for reality doesn't care about the ghost kaiju and ghost nukes.
@@SusCalvingoth ghetto 🤣 still the Mage battle can rip apart reality and throw you into the darkest corners of the Labyrinth only to stumble into a murder-hobo party of Helldivers
I mentioned my story about running Wraith last video, and I’m still proud of that. I wanted to add a little more - since then I spoke to my German girlfriend and in her opinion Charnel Houses was in many ways a very necessary book since it deals with an issue that will come up in most of Central Europe in a respectful way that can be referred to instead of leaving awkward questions to the DM. Same as World War I’s sourcebook. I can also happily say that Wraith can kinda be played in a lighthearted manner. I have used to play in a few spooky one shots around Halloween that play out more like a silly Beetlejuice movie.
I think the thing that drew most people to White Wolf games (besides the obvious aesthetic) was the crazy in depth lore that came with each of the settings. I remember legitimately enjoying reading the rulebooks, mostly because the lore sucked me in, and I got to learn a game system along the way. I really hope you cover Exalted at some point, it's my favorite White Wolf setting, and the lore is easily as in depth and over the top as all of the other White Wolf IPs combined.
Rewatching Wraith Video, but it got me thinking: what’s the most challenging game or book you’ve experienced? Not the hardest, mind. But the one most determined to make you feel terrible: your “Spec Ops: The Line”s, your Sinclair’s “The Jungle”s. For me, it’s “Meltwater: A Game of Tactical Starvation”. The Cold War has ended in near mutual annihilation, and the only source of water exists in Antarctica, where the remaining Americans and Russian survivors continue to fight. Radioactive winds blow, polluting the ice sheet little by little until only one player remains.
Perfect video! Now they just need to release a Changeling video game so you can recap my favorite WoD setting: the one where the moon landing caused so much hope for the future that it caused the dream world and the real world to interact for the first time since the dark ages!
So glad I found this video! I've been working on a personal campaign and some of the mechanics you go over here helped me with ideas I didn't know how to insert into my game. I look forward to watching more content!
The worldbuilding of Wraith reminds me of the original conception of the zombie, as a corpse reanimated to serve as a slave for a necromancer, and why it was people who lived as slaves who imagined that: the fear that even in death there might be no end to work.
This is such a good video. I've only dabbled in table top games, I have Mansions of Madness but can only play by myself, so I rarely play. I play a ton of VR though and love horror, I've always been interested in Wraith but most VR content on YT is shallow. Thanks for the incredibly informative video. Even though I don't play table top games, the lore is fascinating to me, I'll be sure to check out your other videos.
The high quality, content and passion in your videos always astounds me considering the amount of subscribers you have. You deserve to have so many more! Best luck and wishes!
really enjoyed the original wraith vid before it got delisted, and now leaving a comment for algorithmic purposes. you’re doing fantastic work here, my dude, keep it up!
This was a great video! I loved hearing you explain the lore and a follow up video about the rest that you didn't explain would be awesome to watch! Thanks for making this series on the WoD. I had only ever heard of it in passing and in relation to Bloodlines.
This was a very cool video, and I appreciated it a lot! Video so nice I'll watch it twice; unfortunate for the circumstances behind it, though. Also, I will say, I certainly do not mind getting a *lot* about a tabletop system in a video, followed by the stuff on the specific video game adaptation that brings the video together. If you ever do more of that in the future, I'm certainly here for it. (Or if you just wanted to talk about a tabletop, really, but the video game adaptations of tabletops deal seems a very cool and fun niche, and it's always fun to see a new video, whether it's a game I know about or not.)
This video was the one that got me hooked on your videos. I really hope the algorithm gods bless you once more with this upload cause this is an incredible game
This is absolutely interesting! I think making this concept in a rpg like Disco Elysium could really make it shine in game form. I don’t play VR and it seems like Afterlife is more of an “action” horror experience rather than a story based game.
So... I probably shouldn't have watched this at 2am, but I missed out on seeing it when you first uploaded it and I can't sleep anyway lol. As you were talking about the lore, I started thinking about the possible Jungian inspiration for certain monsters and themes, which is something I've gotten from watching Resonant Arc's podcast. Funnily enough, they're covering a game that I'd thought would be up your alley; Planescape: Torment. Funny how it's basically the dnd version of the Wraith TTRPG (criticsm for gameplay but not lore lol) and you both are covering these at similar times.
47:12 fighting a giant kaiju that fused with your shadow? No doubt while a heavy metal rendition of Persona 4's I'll Face Myself was playing in the background.
On the contrary i would argue the powerful emotional tones of dealing with a heavy subject as death with a juxtaposition of "hey wanna have a cool necromantic desert eagle?" not only can work, but anime has been succeeding in this regard a lot. And not just anime but a lot of general media. Take a heavy subject and wrap it up in over-the-top concepts and ideas, maybe even humorous, it's what keeps one sane, but when the feels hit you, you get hit real hard. You forget all the gloom and doom when you're ripping through and undead horde, but then when you pause and stop, the gloom and doom returns. I love this kind of shit. Not exactly to a T but i'm actually trying to go for this. A dying world akin to dark souls, hope is a luxury most can't afford, the twisted world eating itself has made civilization nearly impossible, forcing everyone to live a nomadic style, always on the run, always on the move. On the other hand there's righteous paladin werewolf demon hunters wielding lighting with the power of their metal singing voice, they might as well be the source of storms to begin with... although even that's just a legend, possibly fairy tale. History? Inconcievable. But there yet might be few in hiding, ready to be found and bring back the power of METAL! Just imagine playing Dark Souls while listening to Beast in Black and/or Powerwolf
I always did wonder what the fuck Wraith could be about beyond being sad and haunting a house, but I wasn't ready for the shadow-Roman emperor fighting Godzilla
Man, I remember when Wraith came out, I kind of ignored it, my group and I were obsessed with Changeling and VtM at the time. I picked up the Wraith core book not to long ago, and I regret not playing it back then.
Very good video. I'm a long time fan of the old WoD games, and even I've never been able to play a game of Wraith on the table. Really appreciate channels like this bringing attention to the World of Darkness (which has so many cool ideas and concepts), to new audiences who may not be familiar with it. It really was influential for a particular generation, and it's art and writing style really does feel one of a kind. The decision to put a niche game into the niche VR market is questionable, but I'm hopeful videos like this help it get some attention. Fingers crossed for a new Hunter:The Reckoning game someday.
Edit: And listening further, this is exactly what you said! The problem with Wraith wasn't necessarily that it was too dark. It's that it couldn't make up its mind about what kind of game it wanted to be. Are you supposed to hang around in the living world to fix things and work at accepting it's time to move on? Or are you supposed to engage with the complex, baroque and horrifying society of the dead and engage in politics and fighting the spectres rising up from Oblivion? The game goes both directions and the two really, really don't work together.
I regret I can only thumbs up the video once; so many great gags in this video that I had to pause so I could laugh, and also the depth of your coverage is wonderful - awesome video!
Okay i gotta admit i am now fully commited to the batshit insanity that is Wraith Lore and also fully understand why Table Top is hard to play. Ghost Godzilla fighting Charon is a batshit sentence to say
I would ki-LOVE. I would love William to do a deep dive into the lore of Wraith, and other WoD/D&D stuff. Even if it's not video game related. Not enough channels do that, which is a shame.
I'll have you know there are many of us chronically majorly depressed freaks out here who absolutely love wallowing in the deep, endless regret of WTO💔🖤
good old youtube forcing censorship on world historical events. things like this is why the alt right feels so emboldened lately. anyway sorry you have to do with that William and I will gladly watch this reupload.
I cannot express to you how much I NEED a classic RPG following the gothpunk DND side of this setting after watching this video, like sure personal horror is cool and all and but not when you're telling me Ghostzilla could be out there and I could be fighting him
Love your WoD videos. VtM keeps coming up in friend groups to play but never anything else. Now I know a bit more of the wider setting and have something to share with them.
I really hope you can explain more of the lore from World of Darkness! - loved the way you explained wraith. It’s the most comprehensive, interesting and well made video on it that I’ve seen
I enjoyed this one immensely especially as an Old WoD player who had heard of Wraith but never had a chance to play it. I was always more of Werewolf and Hunter kind of guy. My life is now better to know that Charon the Ferryman fought a Ghost Godzilla. Hunter was also a VERY underutilized setting for gaming as well. Hunter the Reckoning: Wayward/Redeemer was not enough.
I'll be honest I didn't enjoy the second part, I just can't handle horror, but man the first part... I absolutely love listening you talking about the lore, your voice, the narration, the timing, everything is perfect. I'd watch a 5 hour video of you just talking about any RPG lore without hesitation. I meant to post this on the original video, so I don't know if anything changed, but I'm sure it's still amazing.
13:23 A caul (pronounced like 'call') is when a baby is born with part of the amniotic sac covering its head. It's fairly rare and it's often considered an omen of some kind :)
Fantastic video! I've been playing VTM for years, but never checked out most of the other WOD series. Thanks for a comprehensive essay on the subject! Also the videogame sounds like an amazing thing that I'm never going to touch with a ten-foot pole =)
Love this content that's more than just D&D. As a video gamer, I wouldn't know about this kind of thing at all, and it's great to listen to you explain these so well.
Changeling the Dreaming was also functionally cancelled, I don't remember if it was officially announced, but books that were announced just stopped coming out (including one of the core Kith books). It got some mentions in some crossover-oriented books, but apart from that it was dead. Interesting that Wraith would mostly ignore the more urban fantasy aspects and focus on the afterlife lore, since Changeling was dragged kicking and screaming by WhiteWolf (and OnyxPath) in the other direction. Going from the whole "holding on to the dying embers, you can't be entirely sure are even real, of a place you remember and long for, but have never seen" to being more just "Vampire, but with fae-creatures and imagination/dream magic".
I didn't know this was a reupload, now wonder when I saw it on my notifs I was like "but I already watched that" lol. Gonna give it another watch then hehe.
Black Dog Publishing in some versions of Werewolf is directly stated to be under control of The Wyrm. So essentially White Wolf made a series of games that in universe were supposed to represent evil mind control by dark entities! (See also HOL)
Wraith was my first introduction to the World of Darkness, believe it or not. Played it earlier this year with a friend and his buddies and it was a blast. Plenty of melodrama, high stakes, and really had me go to a dark place to play my character.
I have been there. While I was in a coma I saw that place, the Tempest. It was the most horrifying experience of my entire life and it never really left me. I am still in that hole. I called it the Never.
Uncensored version is up FOR FREE on Patreon: www.patreon.com/WilliamSRD
(not a direct link to the video, in compliance with UA-cam's rules about linking age restricted content)
Oddly fitting that this video was killed and then brought back.
Videomancy
A reupload...?
*_THE CURSE OF WRAITH: THE OBLIVION STRIKES AGAIN!_*
ITS REAL
Thank you everyone for your support after the original video got age restricted. The wave of affirmation and patreon sign ups really helped me get through the worst of it.
I originally said I wouldn't censor the video, but further analysis from a few viewers suggested it was probably one SPECIFIC thing that did it. So here's the adjusted video, with some alteration, but the core of the video intact.
Thanks once again to all of you, I couldn't keep doing this without my amazing community.
THE CURSE OF WRAITH: THE OBLIVION STRIKES AGAIN!
I was introduced to your channel by the original upload, and I've watched a few of your other videos since then. Watching this one again for the engagement.
Oh, I was worried I could not see the video again! UA-cam is pants sometimes
I love you
I almost thought I was insane when the wraith video disappeared when I was midway watching it. UA-cam sure has been making alot of hurdles for long format content creators. Sulmatul had a horrible time trying to get their most recent video up, like several edits and uploads and ultimately hosting a longer version elsewhere.
What I think makes wraith so interesting is the fact that it has the highest chance of happening to people within its world.
You have to get bit by a vampire to become one, you have got to be born with lycan ancestry to become a Garou... but to become a Wraith?
Live with enough regrets that you can't rest in peace.
If you die, you risk becoming a ghost, you really can't have shit in WOD.
Well, you got a pretty good chance of getting Embraced in the WoD too
And even if you already vampire or garou or other paranormal no-more- human,you still can die and have second chance as ghost.
Well,until debilz... Got soul drinked by vampire or died from ither soul annihilation ways.
I know the UA-cam system can be really difficult to get over when you reupload a video, so here is a like and a comment from me as I know interactions help with the algorithm.
It’s been really bad lately it seems.
It feels like at least 10% of videos in my notifications are reuploads nowadays.
Here is some comment about how I feel very strongly about things, engagement is strong on this video, the algorithm would sure benefit from showing it to a lot of people...
I strongly disagree with what has been said here. This, as I understand it, is known as ‘discourse’.
Me too watched the previous upload..
Joining in doing the same. You’re doing great stuff William.
Quick note, Wraith like most of its contemporaries did get a 20th-anniversary edition RPG book which was Kickstarted for nearly $300,000 which blew past it's 50,000 dollar goal and a couple of Wraith 20th sourcebooks to go with it. As well as a 20th-anniversary short story compilation, there is a small devoted fandom even now.
"[...] you're complicit, aren't you? What did you think those coins were made of? Didnt you wonder; _why they weep_ ?"
As a relative newcomer to the Wraith mythos / lore, this writing gave me absolute chills!
This game came out about the same time as The Crow and therefore we ended up playing it as such. It such a cool idea.
Did you try The Risen sourcebook?
Brazilian fan here! Commenting and liking for the algorithm sacrifice demands. This vid is a masterpiece!
I was so into the dark theme and all the amazing story and then ghost Godzilla came and Doomslayers and Helldivers and I couldn't help but laugh out loud! How did it turn into this OMG. It's cool though haha!
ITS SUCH A WILD TONE SHIFT
Uh no it's perfectly apropos of the themes and plot what do you mean?? (Seriously though I love that stuff)
"Guys, trust me. Having Charon 1v1 his godzilla self is crucial to the lore"
@@dustinnabil798 the best thing is it actually was lol
WoD always escalate their ancient conspiracies. If one line has thousand year old vampires then the mages need to fight over the fabric of reality and the end game book gets antediluvians driving around in a giant rotting kaiju. It can't stay a game about keeping the old house you built yourself from being developed into a mall.
The algorithm requires engagement.
Great video! Loved learning about Wraith. Also, my roommate loved it, too.
YOUR ROOMMATE HAS FINE TASTE
Is that a CV11 reference here, of all places?
@@adcon00 You caught me.
Only felt appropriate since my old comment went with the old version of the video, and I wanted to give the algorithm its coveted engagement. lol
Side note: Geist 2e absolutely rules and you should play it. Rather than being a game about being sad about being dead, it's a game about having a second chance and helping the people who didn't get one. Fight fascism to make the afterlife a better place, or help ghosts pass on and gamble that the real afterlife is better than what they have now. Connect with another person who only remembers little pieces of who they are and wants to rebuild themself. It's... it just rules.
Geist is one of the most optimistic CofD games
@@jordanetherington1922 Perhaps, but it also has a serious pile of horror. The Underworld wants you and everyone you love to dance to its tune. There's a nursery where children are forced to toil in a furnace burning their toys, an undead university that lures you in with promises of knowledge and then wipes your memory so you keep studying forever without ever learning, and truly monstrous people who see all death, yours included, as something to exploit.
@@jordanetherington1922 Indeed. And that's part of why it's so needed. Like Hunter it's a manifestation of the consequences of other supernaturals' actions. It's basically the Anti-Vampire in that you died and it made you closer to humanity and hate the people who manipulate and exploit the people like you for profit. There's ways to become a monster, but by default your strength comes from connecting with someone who is lost and broken.
Or, exploit ghosts for fun and profit, steal shit from the afterlife to increase your power, and ignore that the geist you're bound to is claiming to be Jack the Ripper and wants you to kill people for his amusement.
Or, be a ghost-fascist and make the afterlife worse because you can. So many ways to play, most of them will expose the players who can't distinguish between PC and Player.
Given everything I've had to say in my comment about Wraith, I'm driven to agree. Geist's concept is innately more interesting and appealing.
You gotta love how every World/Chronicles of Darkness setting is bonkers if you think on it too hard and delve too deep into the lore. Wraith just commits more than many can handle.
Honestly I don't think Hunter: The Reckoning is that bonkers at least as far as I know (which admittedly isn't much). The craziest I ever saw it was the fact it connected to all the other games but best summarized as "get pissed and go shoot those monsters with this boomstick you found!"
Then again, I am probably oversimplifying it. Which is probably pretty likely
@@Starcraftgamer97 that's fair. Hunter isn't bonkers on the outset, but it is meant to dovetail with the actual Monster play books. So, it's the easiest to get into if played while ignoring the implications and societies the Hunters interact with or interfere with. My point still stands that, if you scratch too hard at the surface, the depth of the world lore is bonkers though lol
@@michaelrigg3623
Oh no doubt. I think that actually works pretty well with the Hunters. All the other books have such massive worlds (and the HtR books do as well) but the Hunters are boiled down to killing that Warlock or Vampire nest with sawed off in their trunk. They know as much as they themselves learn or share with each other.
Truly Lovecraftian to some degree because the deeper one goes in their hunt, the more they start seeing beyond their comprehension.
I've never played WoD but I have always had a tip of the iceberg type interest that led me to collect as much of those Orange Books as I can. It kind of led me to create my own game in Call of Cthulhu that sort of crosses a couple of ideas together that all share the same vibe: Supernatural, Dresden Files, and HtR. Some grim and gritty monster hunting that transcends into the unfathomable cosmos around the players with a potentially pulpy end game.
This video helps me realize about wraith. Learning its lore and it troubled publication. And it giving me ideas for my writing.
Thanks for acknowledging and bringing attention WoD franchise, even this specific series, to youtube. Since it has a tough time getting attention
Being two seperate characters shoved into one meat suit is a lot more fun in the concept than in the maintenance.
Wraiths don't even have the meat suit - it is more the ectoplasm suit
Repost from my original comment on the unlisted vid.
I've played Wraith: The Oblivion more than most other Storytellers have, but the group has always been small; one at the least, two optimally and four at max. I found that this game works best with two players, where both players make one dedicated character and their shadow. Each session the players take turns between themselves to swap as Wraith and Shadow, or Spectre and Psyche, and they follow personal stories of horror and Transcendence. Another way was to allow the players to play both their Wraith and Shadow as if they were two separate characters within the same body, but this can only work with trusted players who'll properly act out their dual roles. However in saying that, my best game was with four players RPing with the former method.
The best Chronicle I ever had was a love story between two Wraiths (four players), it was a Gohic adventure that consisted of 80 in-game years and about 60 odd sessions. Involving Immortals, Mages, Garou and the encroaching Oblivion that ended with the two Wraiths reincarnation via Transcendence. The two Wraiths were a Reaper and Reaped Heretics who bonded over having lived lonely lives and turing into lovers, the Chronicles were almost entirely dedicated to these ghosly lovers finding meaning in their lonely deaths and trying to find a way to Trancend. It was my longest and most engaging tabletop game I had ever done and I've never done one like it since. Doubt I ever will again sadly... No more free time.
I hope to never play such games.
That honestly sounds so complicated to play but that's an awesome retelling!
I love wraith the oblivion and I think its one of the strongest of world of darkness's old line games. The shadow system that everyone complains about as too evil and creating fights is only that way if everyone at the table are dicks and if the gm just lets people be overly cruel with them. When the shadow is working as intended its like having a devil on your shoulder that can give all sorts of buffs and use its set of thorns to actually help in scenes.
The underworld itself is such an amazing local, with the shadowlands mirroring the living world and when places are forgotten or destroyed their dark counterparts literally sink into the ocean of emotion and memory below for a metaphysical high sea adventure and even a massive silent hill style dungeon crawl below that in the very depths of the underworld the Labyrinth. Wraith the oblivion afterlife I think is actually an incredibly narrow and limited scope of what it is actually like to be a ghost in wraith. A game set in Stygia or the shadowlands would be weird rather than pure scary in the same sort of way as Sunken city!
I hope wraith gets tons more people actually interested in the game now that your video is out on it :)
Great video and I'm glad its back up Will!
Add me to the list: Wraith is my favorite RPG setting (with Ars Magica a close second) and I've never played it. Bought and read a ton of the books back in the day and that was enough. Thanks for shining a pale light on such a beloved failure.
6:54 "Hall of Cost," would be a great name for a Wraith the Oblivion book.
Glad/sorry to see you reupload this masterpiece of a video. I don't have time to watch it right now, but I'll put it on later to keep the UA-cam algorithm happy! Hope to see you keep making such amazing content about obscure content!
My favorite ghost??? Dude, do you ever heard of Raziel? A time traveling wraith soul devourer entity with shakesperian poetic self depressing talking in a divine conspiracy to kill his own father, his murderer, the Last Vampire, and the only possible Savior of the World where they live! If not, i would look into that...
I LOVE LEGACY OF KAIN
William, I know you say that as a TTRPG this is not good, but you do such a good job summarizing this that I really want to play it now.
"An unplayable madterpiece" is the best way to sum up Wraith! I forgot how much I liked the background & you did a great job summarizing it!
I once saw Wraith described as "a suicide note with game mechanics" and I think that summed up the mood perfectly. I adore Wraith, especially the Risen sourcebook but in 30 years of playing World of Darkness I've never run or played in a Wraith chronicle.
I cannot believe Wraith's literal entire conceit is 'the horror of both being miserable and being aware that it's over first world problems', which is totally unplayable but very artistically interesting, and that somehow ended up morphing into "JOIN THE _DOOMSLAYERS_ TO RAID THE BEDROCK OF REALITY FOR FORTUNE AND GLORY, IT IS THE *2000'S,* BABY!". It's like the entire design department wrote the first half in the midset of depression and the second half during a manic episode where they binged all of Requiem Chevalier Vampire.
All WoD metaplots escalate in a competition with the other metaplots. All metaplots had part in WW II and nazism to a point where the Holocaust must have been run by committe.
Like other WoD lines, Wraith was part of the shared World of Darkness. Your hunters could run into a haunt. Your wraith could interact with Giovanni necromancer-vampires. Mages and garou go on their weird spirit-quests. There are the mummies off to the side. In practice, everyone sits in their niche goth ghetto with giant metaplots and conspiracies that sometimes cross and sometimes ignore each other. Maybe the mage battle for reality doesn't care about the ghost kaiju and ghost nukes.
@@SusCalvin no they where busy shooting a vampire bloodgod rampaging in india with a gaint sunbased space lazer to help
@@SusCalvingoth ghetto 🤣 still the Mage battle can rip apart reality and throw you into the darkest corners of the Labyrinth only to stumble into a murder-hobo party of Helldivers
@@egillskallagrimson5879 I personally like Esoteric Enterprises, where everyone is just a collection of crappy street gangs.
I mentioned my story about running Wraith last video, and I’m still proud of that. I wanted to add a little more - since then I spoke to my German girlfriend and in her opinion Charnel Houses was in many ways a very necessary book since it deals with an issue that will come up in most of Central Europe in a respectful way that can be referred to instead of leaving awkward questions to the DM. Same as World War I’s sourcebook. I can also happily say that Wraith can kinda be played in a lighthearted manner. I have used to play in a few spooky one shots around Halloween that play out more like a silly Beetlejuice movie.
That is an excellent tone to go for with this theme. Fun, colourful, but not without the potential for some drama and catharsis 👌
I think the thing that drew most people to White Wolf games (besides the obvious aesthetic) was the crazy in depth lore that came with each of the settings. I remember legitimately enjoying reading the rulebooks, mostly because the lore sucked me in, and I got to learn a game system along the way. I really hope you cover Exalted at some point, it's my favorite White Wolf setting, and the lore is easily as in depth and over the top as all of the other White Wolf IPs combined.
Rewatching Wraith Video, but it got me thinking: what’s the most challenging game or book you’ve experienced? Not the hardest, mind. But the one most determined to make you feel terrible: your “Spec Ops: The Line”s, your Sinclair’s “The Jungle”s.
For me, it’s “Meltwater: A Game of Tactical Starvation”. The Cold War has ended in near mutual annihilation, and the only source of water exists in Antarctica, where the remaining Americans and Russian survivors continue to fight. Radioactive winds blow, polluting the ice sheet little by little until only one player remains.
Omg I just found this channel and am SO EXCITED for more WoD content. I've always been super curious about the property.
Perfect video! Now they just need to release a Changeling video game so you can recap my favorite WoD setting: the one where the moon landing caused so much hope for the future that it caused the dream world and the real world to interact for the first time since the dark ages!
Poor Changeling - neglected even more than Wraith.
So glad I found this video! I've been working on a personal campaign and some of the mechanics you go over here helped me with ideas I didn't know how to insert into my game. I look forward to watching more content!
It's interesting to note that the latest edition of Vampire integrated one core feature of Wraith : the touchstones are functionally fetters
The worldbuilding of Wraith reminds me of the original conception of the zombie, as a corpse reanimated to serve as a slave for a necromancer, and why it was people who lived as slaves who imagined that: the fear that even in death there might be no end to work.
You're tellin me they made a setting book that let's me play see-through sad boi Magneto? I do wanna play that thank you.
I mean, when you put it like that...
Holy crap Wraith is for me, this is really inspiring to keep developing my own ttrpg world
This is such a good video. I've only dabbled in table top games, I have Mansions of Madness but can only play by myself, so I rarely play. I play a ton of VR though and love horror, I've always been interested in Wraith but most VR content on YT is shallow. Thanks for the incredibly informative video. Even though I don't play table top games, the lore is fascinating to me, I'll be sure to check out your other videos.
The high quality, content and passion in your videos always astounds me considering the amount of subscribers you have. You deserve to have so many more! Best luck and wishes!
really enjoyed the original wraith vid before it got delisted, and now leaving a comment for algorithmic purposes. you’re doing fantastic work here, my dude, keep it up!
This was a great video! I loved hearing you explain the lore and a follow up video about the rest that you didn't explain would be awesome to watch! Thanks for making this series on the WoD. I had only ever heard of it in passing and in relation to Bloodlines.
I'm sorry you had to re-upload this, that really sucks. Here's a comment for the algorithm and hopefully you can get momentum on this new video!
Just watched the original upload and was curious about what you had to change. I have to say, your reenactment of the [CENSORED!] is *flawless*.
Good video! Glad you uploaded it again
I'm glad to see a good video get a second chance.
Also, gotta say I'm a fan of the classics: Jacob Marley remains my favorite ghost.
I literally never knew that Vampire was a part of a series - now I have something to research. Thanks for the info!
I was so confused when the first version suddenly disappeared, I loved that video. Glad to see a version is back up!
This is so good! ❤ Thanks for covering Wraith, its such a weird game that doesnt get enough coverage!
Just now saw this from the algorithm and wow, I’m SUPER into this world of Wraith! Excellent video!
This was a very cool video, and I appreciated it a lot! Video so nice I'll watch it twice; unfortunate for the circumstances behind it, though. Also, I will say, I certainly do not mind getting a *lot* about a tabletop system in a video, followed by the stuff on the specific video game adaptation that brings the video together. If you ever do more of that in the future, I'm certainly here for it. (Or if you just wanted to talk about a tabletop, really, but the video game adaptations of tabletops deal seems a very cool and fun niche, and it's always fun to see a new video, whether it's a game I know about or not.)
This video was the one that got me hooked on your videos. I really hope the algorithm gods bless you once more with this upload cause this is an incredible game
As someone who spent too much on White Wolf products back in the day, I've been enjoying your recent videos greatly!
Man, every time i come across it, I'm reminded of how much i love the art in the world of darkness books.
I really enjoyed all the tabletop lore you explained in the beginning. Gave great context for the game segments.
This is absolutely interesting! I think making this concept in a rpg like Disco Elysium could really make it shine in game form. I don’t play VR and it seems like Afterlife is more of an “action” horror experience rather than a story based game.
Commenting to support. Thank you so much for covering this and the fantastic lore explanation. You're awesome dude :D
Glad this got re uploaded! World of Darkness has always been something I have been curious about!
So... I probably shouldn't have watched this at 2am, but I missed out on seeing it when you first uploaded it and I can't sleep anyway lol. As you were talking about the lore, I started thinking about the possible Jungian inspiration for certain monsters and themes, which is something I've gotten from watching Resonant Arc's podcast. Funnily enough, they're covering a game that I'd thought would be up your alley; Planescape: Torment. Funny how it's basically the dnd version of the Wraith TTRPG (criticsm for gameplay but not lore lol) and you both are covering these at similar times.
This is one of the best video essay I watched no joke keep it up man
This looks fantastic and almost too scary to play. I love it & thank you for the content!
I enjoy your content and I’m sorry your other video got age restricted.
You seem like a cool guy.
Been waiting for years for someone to cover this, ty!
47:12 fighting a giant kaiju that fused with your shadow?
No doubt while a heavy metal rendition of Persona 4's I'll Face Myself was playing in the background.
Just found out why you're reuploaded and here's my engagement again! Keep up the amazing work!
I'm shocked how...interesting and engaging is Wraith's lore
On the contrary i would argue the powerful emotional tones of dealing with a heavy subject as death with a juxtaposition of "hey wanna have a cool necromantic desert eagle?" not only can work, but anime has been succeeding in this regard a lot. And not just anime but a lot of general media. Take a heavy subject and wrap it up in over-the-top concepts and ideas, maybe even humorous, it's what keeps one sane, but when the feels hit you, you get hit real hard. You forget all the gloom and doom when you're ripping through and undead horde, but then when you pause and stop, the gloom and doom returns. I love this kind of shit. Not exactly to a T but i'm actually trying to go for this. A dying world akin to dark souls, hope is a luxury most can't afford, the twisted world eating itself has made civilization nearly impossible, forcing everyone to live a nomadic style, always on the run, always on the move. On the other hand there's righteous paladin werewolf demon hunters wielding lighting with the power of their metal singing voice, they might as well be the source of storms to begin with... although even that's just a legend, possibly fairy tale. History? Inconcievable. But there yet might be few in hiding, ready to be found and bring back the power of METAL!
Just imagine playing Dark Souls while listening to Beast in Black and/or Powerwolf
A completely brand new video I've never seen before, I'm excited to watch this for the first time!
Missed the first upload, so glad to get the chance to watch it now
You're a good narrator. Your telling of the game's lore is very gripping.
I always did wonder what the fuck Wraith could be about beyond being sad and haunting a house, but I wasn't ready for the shadow-Roman emperor fighting Godzilla
Man, I remember when Wraith came out, I kind of ignored it, my group and I were obsessed with Changeling and VtM at the time.
I picked up the Wraith core book not to long ago, and I regret not playing it back then.
Oh hey, this video is great! I'm liking and subscribing, thank you!
Very good video. I'm a long time fan of the old WoD games, and even I've never been able to play a game of Wraith on the table. Really appreciate channels like this bringing attention to the World of Darkness (which has so many cool ideas and concepts), to new audiences who may not be familiar with it. It really was influential for a particular generation, and it's art and writing style really does feel one of a kind.
The decision to put a niche game into the niche VR market is questionable, but I'm hopeful videos like this help it get some attention. Fingers crossed for a new Hunter:The Reckoning game someday.
Edit: And listening further, this is exactly what you said!
The problem with Wraith wasn't necessarily that it was too dark. It's that it couldn't make up its mind about what kind of game it wanted to be. Are you supposed to hang around in the living world to fix things and work at accepting it's time to move on? Or are you supposed to engage with the complex, baroque and horrifying society of the dead and engage in politics and fighting the spectres rising up from Oblivion? The game goes both directions and the two really, really don't work together.
I regret I can only thumbs up the video once; so many great gags in this video that I had to pause so I could laugh, and also the depth of your coverage is wonderful - awesome video!
Okay i gotta admit i am now fully commited to the batshit insanity that is Wraith Lore and also fully understand why Table Top is hard to play. Ghost Godzilla fighting Charon is a batshit sentence to say
Love these World of Darkness videos. Here's hoping you cover that Hunter the Reckoning game someday.
There's quite a few of them, suprisngly!
Reckoning for all consoles
And then two exclusives, one for Xbox and one for PS iirc?
I would ki-LOVE. I would love William to do a deep dive into the lore of Wraith, and other WoD/D&D stuff. Even if it's not video game related. Not enough channels do that, which is a shame.
awesome video! i hope you'll make more of these in the future
I'll have you know there are many of us chronically majorly depressed freaks out here who absolutely love wallowing in the deep, endless regret of WTO💔🖤
good old youtube forcing censorship on world historical events. things like this is why the alt right feels so emboldened lately. anyway sorry you have to do with that William and I will gladly watch this reupload.
Soy
I cannot express to you how much I NEED a classic RPG following the gothpunk DND side of this setting after watching this video, like sure personal horror is cool and all and but not when you're telling me Ghostzilla could be out there and I could be fighting him
Was great the first time, just as good the second!
AWESOME VIDEO! and now i sit myself down to wait for a changeling (the dreaming) episode
i know theres no game but hear me out: THERE SHOULD BE
Yessssss
Adding some interaction. This was a great vid and I'm sorry you have to reupload.
Love your WoD videos. VtM keeps coming up in friend groups to play but never anything else. Now I know a bit more of the wider setting and have something to share with them.
I really hope you can explain more of the lore from World of Darkness! - loved the way you explained wraith. It’s the most comprehensive, interesting and well made video on it that I’ve seen
This was a really fascinating deep dive into an RPG setting I knew basically nothing about. Well done.
I enjoyed this one immensely especially as an Old WoD player who had heard of Wraith but never had a chance to play it. I was always more of Werewolf and Hunter kind of guy. My life is now better to know that Charon the Ferryman fought a Ghost Godzilla.
Hunter was also a VERY underutilized setting for gaming as well. Hunter the Reckoning: Wayward/Redeemer was not enough.
I'll be honest I didn't enjoy the second part, I just can't handle horror, but man the first part... I absolutely love listening you talking about the lore, your voice, the narration, the timing, everything is perfect. I'd watch a 5 hour video of you just talking about any RPG lore without hesitation. I meant to post this on the original video, so I don't know if anything changed, but I'm sure it's still amazing.
Great exploration of a really unique find! Love the video.
13:23 A caul (pronounced like 'call') is when a baby is born with part of the amniotic sac covering its head. It's fairly rare and it's often considered an omen of some kind :)
Fantastic video! I've been playing VTM for years, but never checked out most of the other WOD series. Thanks for a comprehensive essay on the subject!
Also the videogame sounds like an amazing thing that I'm never going to touch with a ten-foot pole =)
Love this content that's more than just D&D. As a video gamer, I wouldn't know about this kind of thing at all, and it's great to listen to you explain these so well.
Changeling the Dreaming was also functionally cancelled, I don't remember if it was officially announced, but books that were announced just stopped coming out (including one of the core Kith books). It got some mentions in some crossover-oriented books, but apart from that it was dead.
Interesting that Wraith would mostly ignore the more urban fantasy aspects and focus on the afterlife lore, since Changeling was dragged kicking and screaming by WhiteWolf (and OnyxPath) in the other direction. Going from the whole "holding on to the dying embers, you can't be entirely sure are even real, of a place you remember and long for, but have never seen" to being more just "Vampire, but with fae-creatures and imagination/dream magic".
I didn't know this was a reupload, now wonder when I saw it on my notifs I was like "but I already watched that" lol. Gonna give it another watch then hehe.
Mage is about ambition *and* hubris.
Genuinely fascinating setting, I'd love to steal it for a game that isn't a nightmare to play sometime.
Black Dog Publishing in some versions of Werewolf is directly stated to be under control of The Wyrm. So essentially White Wolf made a series of games that in universe were supposed to represent evil mind control by dark entities! (See also HOL)
Wraith was my first introduction to the World of Darkness, believe it or not. Played it earlier this year with a friend and his buddies and it was a blast. Plenty of melodrama, high stakes, and really had me go to a dark place to play my character.
I have been there. While I was in a coma I saw that place, the Tempest. It was the most horrifying experience of my entire life and it never really left me. I am still in that hole. I called it the Never.