Huh. Wraith: The Arising appears to be back up
!
Here's my own (fourth-party?) modifications to it:
Revisions to Deathmarks:
Delete: Mystery
Delete: Fate
Delete: Insanity
Add: Suicide
Suicide:
”I… couldn’t take it anymore.”
Those who slew themselves, known as “Downers” or “Fatalists”, tend to be less-than-popular, in spite of their inner torment manifesting as a talent for Castigate. Perhaps this is because they also tend to manifest Fear instead, or perhaps it is because they are one step closer to Ossification than other Wraiths. Of course, it could simply be jealousy, as their Resolve is often raised to help them survive their afterlives.
Deathmarks: Those who died of Suicide have a wooden texture to their skin. As their will drains away, the texture becomes more and more prevalent. Ossified Suicides actually seem to have bark for skin.
Numen Affiliation: Castigate or Fear
Advantage:Resolve+1
Disadvantage: A Suicide facing catastrophic circumstances (Storyteller has final say as to what counts) cannot regain Willpower and must spend one point every full moon or face Ossification.
Death Trigger: Seeing others give up and attempt to kill themselves. If the Wraith helped them decide to do this, it’s +2.
Revisions to Concords:
Replace all with these:
The Guided:
“Don’t worry. You are not here to be punished. This is simply a test. And we’re going to help you pass.”
The Guided hold to the belief that they were kept on Earth as a final test to prove that they deserved Heaven (or some other final reward). They often hold to the tenets of the faith they held in life, acting as paragons of virtue to the living and dead alike. Other Guided try to earn their own salvation by saving mortals from earning the wrath of the Gods.
The Wise: Atheists who deny the Gods and will be condemned to Hell
The Forgiven: As if dying could undo one’s actions!
The Favored: We aren’t in Heaven yet, but they act like they are
The Unchanged: Trying to hang on to something they’ve lost
The Wise:
“Why are we here? Why didn’t we pass on? I don’t know. But let’s find out together.”
The Wise, upon Waking Up and seeing that their afterlife didn’t match what was promised, decided that they would find out why it didn’t match. They often reject the faith they held in life in favor of a more scientific approach. Most Wise conduct numerous experiments regarding the interaction between the Deadlands and Skinlands, while others prefer endless philosophical debate.
The Guided: Dogmatic and hopelessly closed-minded
The Forgiven: Unconcerned with the Wraithly condition
The Favored: Egomaniacs who want to be kings
The Unchanged: We already know we aren’t human...
The Forgiven:
“Death is not the end. It is a new beginning .Your old life is over. Now, we will begin your new one.”
The Forgiven hold that the Afterlife is just that: after their lives. They mostly believe that the dead have no place among the living. Some, though, especially with help from the Shaping and Bios Numina, try to carry on an existence in the Skinlands. The Forgiven often, one at a time, sever their Anchors and replace them with ones relevant to their new identities.
The Guided: Trying to atone for things that don’t matter
The Wise: Too caught up in understanding to know anything
The Favored: Why should we rule over a world we don’t live in?
The Unchanged: Stuck in the past, may as well be Asleep
The Favored:
“We have died, yes, but we have ascended to a higher state. We rule over the Living by right.”
The Favored consider their abilities to go places the Living can’t, and to do things beyond the ability of mere mortals, to be proof that they are more than humans. They believe that humans were made to rule over animals, and that Wraiths were made to rule over humans (and, often thought but rarely spoken, that the Favored were made to rule over Wraiths).
The Guided: Too humble to realize what’s really going on
The Wise: Useful if you can trick them into giving you information
The Forgiven: We are creatures of two worlds, not one
The Unchanged: Refuse to admit that they’re dead
The Unchanged:
“We may be dead, but we are still human. No more than that, and no less.”
The Unchanged hold that, although they may be on a different plane of reality, and although they may have spent some time in a nonhuman state, they are still human. Many try (with substantial difficulty) to continue their lives on Earth. Others try to change the Deadlands into a reflection of the Livelands so that they may construct something similar to what they left behind.
The Guided: Too caught up in the next world to live in this one
The Wise: Insist that we aren’t people anymore
The Forgiven: Amnesiacs who have forgotten their lives
The Favored: We are not angels or demons, we are merely human.