Wraith: The Oblivion

It is set in the afterlife of White Wolf Publishing's classic World of Darkness setting, in which the players take on characters who are recently dead and are now ghosts. Wraith: The Oblivion features an artistically consistent depiction of the afterlife and strong emotional themes, but was the least commercially popular of the World of Darkness games. White Wolf discontinued their production of the game line in 1999, leaving some planned material unpublished. Following the game's cancellation in 1999, White Wolf revisited some of Wraith's themes in their role-playing miniseries Orpheus. Characters have the options of struggling to find a means of ascending into a 'true' afterlife , becoming embroiled in the politics of the afterlife's denizens, or gradually succumbing to the dreaded Oblivion that seeks to devour all newly deceased souls. Wraiths draw their strengths from the passions that held them to the living world. Fetters allow a Wraith to remain close to the world of the living, while Passions allow them to gain emotional energy to sustain themselves. With a mix of emotional fetters and the confrontational play style that the Shadow presents, games of Wraith: The Oblivion are often powerfully emotive. Wraith: The Oblivion primarily takes place in the Deadlands of the western world. The first is referred to as the Shadowlands, which is a darkened reflection of the living world. Wraiths can explore the landscapes and cities as they were during their mortal life, but are unable to interact with it in any meaningful way without the use of special ghostly powers called Arcanoi. Deeper into the underworld is the Tempest, a perpetually churning chaotic sea of darkness. Within the Tempest are several islands of stable reality, the largest one of which in the western world is the Empire of Stygia , a massive city-state founded by the legendary Charon. Stygia's authoritarian governing body, The Hierarchy, stands opposed to the disparate Renegades, who challenge its rulership for any number of political reasons, and to the Heretics, cults formed in search of Transcendence . The game permits the players to select any of these factions as playable options. All Wraiths are constantly at risk from Spectres, beings which serve Oblivion and lurk within the seas of the Tempest.