Friday, May 27, 2011

Exaltation Preview: Wraith

Hey, everyone. Sorry about the sparse updates to this. I've been hard at work on a ship system. It's looking pretty good! It's borrowing a lot from Rogue Trader at the moment (feel free to suggest other ship combat systems or ideas if you've used them or like them), but I've actually pulled a few things from Star Trek Online, mostly some of their options for building ships. It should make for some really versatile shipbuilding.

Anyway, today, I have a new preview - the Wraith exalt! I don't have a pretty picture for this one, I'm afraid. If anyone does, leave me a link in the comments and I'll update this post with it!

Wraith: The Unquiet Dead
    Some people acieve great things in life. That's pretty easy stuff compared to getting things done while you're dead. A Wraith is a ghost, but not just any ghost - they're a ghost that can still affect the living world. They build bodies of ectoplasm that seem nearly alive and wear them like skin suits, forms that almost look like they did while alive, reflecting their somewhat spotty memory.
    The time a Wraith can stay manifested is somewhat limited - they don't have an infinite amount of spiritual energy, and they can only regain their ectoplasmic energy while in the Umbra, that shadowy realm of the dead halfway between the real world and the screaming chaos of the Warp. Every Wraith must return to the Umbra from time to time, and can be forced there by the destruction of their shell.
    No one is sure exactly how a Wraith comes to be. Just having unfinished business can't be enough - plenty of people die with work undone and don't come back as a Wraith. However it happens, Wraiths stay around for a long time. They're effectively immortal (since, after all, they're already dead) until someone goes and kills them. A difficult prospect for anyone who can't enter the Umbra.
    A Wraith makes an excellent thief or assassin, as they're able to get into places others simply can't go, do things others can't manage, and simply have nothing to fear any longer from the prospect of death.

Power Stat: Synergy
Resource Stat: Plasm - A Wraith has maximum Plasm equal to their Synergy plus their Resolve. They cannot recover Plasm in the world of the living. In fact, a Wraith will slowly lose Plasm (at the rate of one per day) unless they surround themselves in the ritual and symbolic trappings of death. While in the Umbra, a Wraith recovers two Plasm per hour.

Static Powers
    Dematerialize - A wraith isn't really a living creature as such. Their bodies are vessels made of ectoplasm that mock life for a time. A wraith may spend one Plasm as a half action to become incorporeal (as per the Phasing trait) for a number of rounds up to their Resolve. A wraith may choose to enter the Umbra instead of becoming incorporeal, though they must then spend one Plasm and a half action to return to their physical form (and thus cannot return if they have only one Plasm remaining). They may not become incorporeal while in the Umbra. A Wraith's personal equipment becomes incorporeal and enters the Umbra with him while he uses this power.
    Second Death - A Wraith's physical form is only a created shell. They have the Undead trait. If they would take critical damage, ignore its effects. They instead lose that much Plasm. If their Plasm reaches zero in this or any other way, the shell is destroyed and the Wraith is forced into the Umbra until they can create a new shell, which takes one day. Their personal equipment is left behind, typically dripping with ectoplasm as their body collapses. During this time, they do not recover Plasm. If they would take damage while in this decrepit state, they die (again).
    Deathsight - A Wraith always sees into the Umbra like a pale shroud overlaid over the vitality of the real world. This allows them to see lingering magical auras, get a general idea about the 'feel' of a place, and so forth. They can also see through the eyes of the dead. If they touch a corpse and spend a Plasm, they view the deceased's final moments from their point of view.
    Ghost Dice - When a Wraith spends Plasm for extra dice, make sure to keep those dice separate (using different colored dice is one easy way to handle it). Whenever a Wraith rolls a 1 on these Ghost Dice, something bad happens regardless of the success/failure of the action. Conversely, a 10 means something good happened.
    EXAMPLE: Let's say you were trying to eat a telephone.
    1) You equal or beat the TN, and roll a 10 on a Ghost Die: You eat the telephone and not only is everything fine, but you're left feeling refreshed and charged up, recovering a level of fatuge.
    2) You roll less than the TN, and roll a 10 on a Ghost Die: Your teeth aren't strong enough, but in attempting to eat the phone you accidentially dial a number and end up with a hot date!
    3) You equal or beat the TN, and roll a 1 on the Ghost Die: You successfully swallow the last bite only to realize you've forgotten to turn the phone off! It starts ringing and vibrating inside you.
    4) You roll less than the TN, and roll a 1 on the Ghost Die: You get the phone caught in your mouth and have to go to the hospital for some expensive and embarrassing oral surgery.

Synergy
    1 Whispers - The Wraith can always hear the faint murmurs of the unquiet dead. They may use the Divination spell Augury at will, rolling Synergy + Wisdom instead of the normal Focus Power test.
    2 Poltergeist - By spending a Plasm, you can manipulate objects at a distance for one scene. You effectively have a reach of three meters per dot of Synergy. You cannot control objects well enough to make attacks with this ability. The effective Strength score for moving objects using this power is equal to your Willpower. At Synergy 4, their control is fine enough to make melee attacks out to that range, though they cannot make opportunity attacks using Poltergeist.
    3 Curse - As a half action, the Wraith chooses someone within range of their Poltergeist ability. That person must immediately roll on the Psychic Phenomena chart. If this would result in Perils of the Warp, reroll it unless the Wraith spends 3 Plasm. The Wraith is immune to any effects caused by the result of this Curse (they are not knocked down by Spectral Gale or The Earth Protests, etc.).
    4 Shroud - Gain Armor equal to your Resolve. This doesn't stack with worn armor. If you become incorporeal, this ability provides Aura instead of Armor.
    5 Ectoplasmic Form - A Wraith's body is really little more than solidified ectoplasm. Once per session, they may loose its bonds, turning the ectoplasm back into a liquid. They gain Amorphous. but instead of doubling hit points, they gain number of temporary hit points equal to their current Plasm. They lose these temporary hit points first. At the end of the scene they lose Amorphous and any remaining temporary hit points.

6 comments:

  1. If a Wraith uses Whispers do they still roll for psychic phenomena if they keep a 10 on the roll?

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  2. Well, I dunno about you guys, but if I play one, he'll find a way.

    Looking awesome! I really like this one. What's their tell?

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  3. oh, and do you have any idea what their exaltation assets will represent?

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  4. Their Exaltation Assets are probably themed after the 5 types of Geists.

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  5. Is there Neverborn? PLease let there be Neverborn.

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