Character Creation: Wraith: The Oblivion 1st Edition

 Today I finished my final draft for A Little Meatier, and tomorrow I get to start working on my first draft for Next Phase. Yee-ha! Werewolfy goodness all around!

Tonight, though, I want to make a character, because I can stay up and do it and I don't have to get up early. I'm gonna go get a drink first, though. OK, I'm back.

The Game: Wraith: The Oblivion 1st edition
The publisher: White Wolf
Degree of familiarity: Lots. Wraith was the first WoD game I ran, and that chronicle was the first one in which I gave serious though to theme, mood and other high-falutin' concepts. My second Wraith game died out before its time, but it had some interesting moments. Wraith remains one of my favorite games of all time.
Books Required: Just the Wraith core, which is good, 'cause it's all I have.

If you died today, what would go on your character sheet? I wrote an essay on running this game some time back, y'know.

Anyway, I'm doing Wraith today because I have a concept. I was watching Dead Like Me last night, and thinking about the business of "reaping" the newly deceased. And then I thought about my school and how I have to help out the kids who are trapped behind their own voices sometimes (that's OWoD poetic, ain't it?).

So the concept I had was of a man who worked as a custodian at an elementary school. He loved the kids, but had a special place in his heart for the lonely, the sad, the misfits, the freaks, the ones that just never quite got it. He'd been like that, once, and through a series of twists and turns, this is where he ended up. He liked the work, but he always regretted not having a family of his own. And then he died one morning, driving to school. The train track's crossing guards malfunctioned and didn't fall, and he zoned out and didn't see the train...

He was Reaped by a ghost who haunted those train tracks, a ghost who, fortunately, was kind and understanding. The custodian (his name is Sylvester Cotto - the kids called him "Mr. Sly") realized as he learned about the Hierarchy that a lot of ghosts don't get treated so well. In fact, they get put straight into slavery. To Sly, that just wasn't acceptable.

That takes care of Life, Death and Regret. I think that for Nature, this guy is a Caregiver. He Reaps newly dead people and helps them steer clear of the slavers for the Hierarchy, even at risk to himself. For Demeanor, though, he's a Critic. He always had a cynical side; it was tempered before, but death put an edge on it.

On to Attributes! Sly is a Social animal, probably Physical secondary, leaving Mental tertiary. I put Charisma up to 5, Manipulation to three and Appearance to two. Sly is damned likeable. Everyone always say.

For Physical, I throw one into Strength and Dexterity and the rest into Stamina. Sly is tough. Always has been.

Mental, I make it even. I may raise Intelligence later, or I may let Abilities do the talking.

Speaking of which: Sly has been a custodian and handyman for a long time, so I think that puts Skills first (he also served in the Army, I think). Knowledge is secondary; Sly likes to read on his off time, and he does work at a school. That leaves Talents last.

Skills: I put one into Firearms (old military training), and one each into Melee and Leadership for the same reason. Three into Crafts, three into Repair (his job), one into Stealth, one into Etiquette (for dealing the parents) and two into Drive.

Knowledges: Three into Bureaucracy (military and then school? C'mon), and then one each into Computer, Enigmas, Investigation (lookin' through lockers!), Linguistics (Spanish), Politics and Science.

Talents: One each in Athletics, Awareness and Brawl, and two in Empathy. I think my freebies might go here.

Advantages: I get five dots in Arcanoi. Ooh! Spectral power! Well, let's think. I'm going to spread out my points, here. I take the first dot in Argos, Lifeweb, Fatalism, Outrage and Castigate. All useful abilities for his existence as a Reaper.

Backgrounds: Seven dots. Woo! I'll take Memoriam, first off. The kids remember Mr. Sly, and sure enough, the place just doesn't run as well without him. Three dots there. I'll put two into Status (Renegades). What he's doing is technically against Hierarchy policy, and so he's kind of a Renegade, though he wouldn't see it that way. I'll put one dot into Haunt (his janitor's office at school) and the remaining dot into Artifact. Sly's ring of keys followed him into the Shadowlands, and he can use it to unlock any door, provided it isn't magically sealed.

Passions: OK, here's where we're off the lists and high on life! Death, rather! First passion: "Ease the transition into death." The emotion there is "Compassion," and I'll give that 4 dots. Since I want a school-related Passion, I give Sly "Keep the school running smoothly" focused on Pride (2 dots). Finally, I take "Protect the misfits", focused on Pity, at 4 dots. Pity doesn't really seem right for that, though. Sly was a misfit when he was a kid. How about we focus that on Envy, instead? He always wanted to be one of the cool people, but he wasn't and never will be. So he helps the underdogs to find their own way, not wanting the "beautiful people" to always get their way.

Fetters: 10 dots here, too. Well, definitely the school. Three dots; that's an important one. His Purple Heart from when he was in the Army gets 1 dot. The letter than his fiancee, Marla, wrote him when she dumped him to move back to Jersey with her old boyfriend gets three (remember, he always wanted a family). The train crossing where he died gets one - why did he zone out that morning? He was always a careful driver... And, finally, the book he was reading when he died, currently behind the desk at the school library, Slaughterhouse Five.

OK, now I get 15 freebies. Let's look at Talents. I spend 12 right away, buying Alertness, Awareness, a third dot of Empathy, a dot of Expression and two Streetwise. That leaves three. Normally I'd take extra freebies by giving them to my Shadow, but I don't think it's appropriate for Sly. In fact, I think I'll use those extra three points to buy Eidolon 2, and up the Artifact to 2 (because for what it does, I think it should probably be 2, since I can affect the Skinlands with it).

Speaking of the Shadow...

Sly's Shadow, I think, is just bitter. It hates children for their youth and how they squander it. It hates mopping up their vomit and listening to their stupid fights, catching them making out in the halls and dealing with the disrespectful tones. And it really hates ripping the cauls off newly dead idiots when it could be selling the little shits. This Shadow is a Director. It knows it doesn't have much time in power, and so when it does manage to snatch control away, it sets things up as best it can. It's already used Sly to sell a newly dead person into slavery, and it reminds Sly of that whenever it's feeling vicious.

Angst: I roll 5 dice at difficulty 6, and get three successes. My permanent Angst rating is 3.

Dark Passions: I get seven points to assign here. Well, first, Sly's Shadow hates kids, and wants to see them humiliated and broken. So that's "Break children's spirits" (Hate) at 4. The Shadow also wants to see Sly go get a job Reaping for the Hierarchy, which would be custodial, but also be party to slavery. "Join Hierarchy" (Greed) at 2. Finally, the Shadow blames Sly's own Reaper, Lois, for his death. "Harm Lois" (Bitterness) at 1 dot.

Freebies: I get 10 to spend on the Shadow. Definitely want Dark Allies, because I can see Spectres wanting a piece of Sly. 3 points. I'll also spend 3 points on Bad Luck - very nasty for my character's clever Shadow. Finally, I'll put the other four into temporary Angst, giving the Shadow 2 points.

And that's everything. This being a 1st ed game, I take a Charisma Specialty (Approachable) and a Stamina Specialty (Workhorse). But beyond that, I'm good to go and ready to jump into death!