Shadows Revised

by J. Edward Tremlett (reggies_ghost@hotmail.com)

Summary: A new look at Shadows in Wraith Revised.
This article originally appeared on Ex Libris Nocturnis at the URL:
http://www.nocturnis.net/articles/wraith/default/2001/November/326/page1.html
"I'll shine for you, burn if you want to
You'll be the prize for my pain.
I'll kill your God and pray for salvation
I'll be the in to your sane."
- Gary Numan , “A Question of Faith”
In keeping with Wraith: Revised, Shadows have undergone a few changes in creation and operation.
This has been done both to make Shadows a little more interesting to play, and give them a bit more of
an edge than they had before. This will help facilitate Shadowguides to act, rather than just react -
provided they hadn’t leaped that barrier already...
These rules are best utilized with both the Revised Wraith Creation rules and My Best Enemy articles,
which ran previously on ELN. The latter contains tips and strategies for creating more effective,
evocative Shadows.
You might also want to take a gander at the Shadow Player’s Guide for even more information on
Shadows.
Shadow Creation
Shadow creation is pretty much the same as Wraith: The Oblivion 2nd ed pp. 166-173, with three
important exceptions: Dark Backgrounds, starting Current Angst, and Being.
Dark Backgrounds
Some things that were once listed as Thorns have become Backgrounds for the Shadow. They are
bought with Shadow Freebies, and can can only be increased (and decreased) through roleplaying.
They are:
· Spectre Prestige
· Dark Allies
· Tainted Relic
· Infamy
Current Angst
As with starting Pathos, this is no longer bought. The starting total is equal to the Infamy Dark
Background, plus any successes gained while rolling the Shadow's highest Dark Passion at diff. 6 (1's
do not cancel successes). This roll can take the Current Angst higher than Permanent Angst, of course.
Being
Being is the Shadow's Willpower. It starts equal to the highest Dark Passion the Shadow has, and can
be increased through Freebie Points. Like the Psyche’s Willpower, there is both Permanent and
Current Being; unlike the Psyche's Willpower, there is no minimum score for Permanent Being.
Whatever Dark Passion is the highest, take the core emotion and write it down on the Shadow’s
Character Sheet. This is the emotion that best defines the Shadow’s state of mind, and will rule its
existence to a certain extent. It also confers certain advantages, which are highlighted under New
Shadow Mechanics, below.
Shadow Freebie costs are:
· Permanent Angst: 5
· Dark Passions: 1
· Dark Backgrounds: 1
 · Being: 2
· Thorns: variable, from 1 to 7.
New Spectre Traits
Being
Being, put simply, is Willpower for Shadows. While Current Angst might be a measure of how much
negative, entropic energy a Wraith is carrying around at one time, and Permanent Angst how much her
Shadow has stored up in reserve, Being represents how assertive and willful the Shadow is.
When Shadows take over the body via Catharsis, the Shadow can use Current Being to:
· Gain a success on rolls
· Fuel Arcanoi that would require the expenditure of Current Willpower if the Psyche was
using it.
· Do any other thing the Psyche would have to spend Current Willpower to do
· Resist anything that would otherwise require Current Willpower to do so
Note that Shadows used to be able to spend Current Angst for successes when in Catharsis: this is no
longer the case.
When a Shadow is not in Catharsis, it can spend a point of Being to take away a success on any roll a
Wraith might make. The Shadowguide must announce that she's going to do this before the Wraith's
player rolls. The only time that a Shadow cannot do this is when the Wraith uses some or all of its
Eidolon dice in a roll, such as when she rolls to resist Catharsis.
Being is regained in the same way that Willpower is for the Wraith. Each Shadow Archetype has its
own operating parameters, and if the Shadow can fulfill the most basic one, it may regain a point.
For example: a Pusher, at base, wants the Psyche to willingly turn to him for "help." So any time the
Psyche does so, the Shadow can regain a point of Being.
If the Shadow should ever spend or lose all its Current Being, it falls silent and can do nothing until it
gets at least one point back. Current Being comes back at the same rate as Current Willpower,
whatever that may be for your game. Failing that, the Shadow will get one point of Current Being back
the moment the Psyche gets back a point of Current Willpower: this is the only time that sort of
synchronicity will occur, though...
If the Shadow should ever spend or lose its last point of Permanent Willpower, it goes comatose.
Meanwhile, the Psyche undergoes a sort of reverse Harrowing known as a Recognition. Details on
Recognitions can be found on page 161 of Shadow Players’ Guide. At the end of the Recognition, the
Shadow regains a point of Permanent Being, and is back in action.
Dark Backgrounds
Dark Backgrounds are a new type of Advantage that the Shadow has. Where Thorns are powers that
the Shadow can use against the Wraith, Dark Backgrounds are social characteristics that the Shadow
can use to further its goals.
Much like the Psyche's Backgrounds, these have a rating between 0 and 5. They can go up and down
through roleplaying, and could disappear if abused or neglected.
· Dark Allies: Each point in Dark Allies gives one Spectre, or fellow Shadow, that the Shadow
can call on for aid. Most of these allied Spectres of the Doppleganger Caste. If a Dark Ally is
destroyed, the rating goes down. If a Dark Ally is made through roleplaying, the rating goes up.
· Infamy: Infamy still acts as described in Wraith: The Oblivion 2nd ed. pg. 170.
· Spectre Prestige: This is Status for the Shadow - how does it appear in the eyes of the
Labyrinth? Shadows with nothing in this have no sway and no respect; Shadows with high
levels can make requests of Nephwracks and have a reasonable chance of having them granted.
· Tainted Relics: These act as described on page 170 of W:TO 2nd ed. In addition, the Shadow
can spend a point of Current Angst to make the relic appear in the Wraith's field of vision to
 taunt the Psyche. In this state, the relic has no physical substance and cannot be used by the
Wraith. This illusion can last for up to a Scene for each point of Angst spent, and the Wraith
can spend a point of Current Willpower to dispel it for the Scene.
Another thing to keep in mind for Backgrounds: some Shadows can animate their shared Corpus and
go live a "double life," as it were, and other Shadows are quite adept at achieving Catharsis on a fairly
regular basis. It's not inconceivable that such Shadows could have points in their own, ‘normal’
Backgrounds to indicate the social connections they’ve made on their own, and that the Psyche either
has no idea about, or shuns like mad.
In this case, Shadows can take most Backgrounds, with the exceptions of Eidolon, Legacy, Memoriam
and Haunt - covered by the "Shadow Haunt" Flaw from Shadow Players Guide - as "Dark
Backgrounds," to be used while in control of the Wraith's body.
New Thorns
Shadow Arcanoi: 5 pts.
Shadows sometimes know things that the Psyche is ignorant of, and this can include Arcanoi. For each
dot of Shadow Arcanoi purchased, the Shadow has an Art in an Arcanos, or Dark Arcanos, that the
Psyche does not have access to. This Arcanos can only be used by the Shadow when in Catharsis.
The Arts the Shadow has must either be in something the Psyche knows how to do, or something the
Shadow’s bought on its own. If the Shadow wants to learn a whole new Arcanos, it may do so: it will
pay 5 Shadow Experience and gain one Basic Ability.
Shade Power: 5 pts.
Shadows can purchase Shade Powers to use while in Catharsis. The Shadow pays whatever Angst or
Current Being costs a Shade would pay to use them, with the stipulation that none of the powers can be
used against the Shadow’s own Corpus, or the Psyche. A wide range of Shade Powers have been given
in various Wraith books, and the Storyteller is free to allow or disallow the purchase of a power as she
sees fit.
Shadow Mount: 6 pts.
Hailing from the days when live transportation was highly common in the Skinlands, the Shadow
Mount provided its owners' Shadows with a way to get them from place to place that didn't require
going through the Tempest, but costs them nonetheless.
The Mount can be called up by the Shadow at the Psyche's request. Using the creature gives the Psyche
one Temporary Angst to call it, and one Temporary Angst for each scene past the first it's used. (If
going by journey rather than scene, charge a temporary Angst for every ten miles ridden in the
Shadowlands). The Shadow can also call it up while in Catharsis, and this costs one Temporary Angst
for unlimited use so long as the Catharsis lasts.
This creature is highly unnatural-looking. It can come in any shape, from the mundane to the
nightmarish -- though horses are the norm -- but will always look at least a little "off" regardless of its
appearance. Unlike the fabled Deathsteeds of the Equitates, the Shadow Mount leaves no tracks behind
it in the Shadowlands. The Mount cannot be more than three times larger in mass than the Wraith. It
will travel about as fast as a common horse does on even, uncomplicated land, regardless of the true
state of the terrain, and will not ever tire.
A Shadow Mount is, in the strictest sense, a projection of the Shadow's will that's almost akin to a
Tainted Relic. Its' only purpose is to act as transportation for the Wraith or its Cathartic Shadow. It
does not have any abilities, combat or otherwise, nor can it really act as shielding for the Wraith who
rides it, nor as a beast of burden (though it'll carry anything the Wraith is carrying, regardless of
weight). It cannot be given to another Wraith to ride, nor have any existence on its own away from the
Wraith who owns it.
It cannot be damaged directly or affected by Arcanoi, but the Wraith who rides it can. Whatever she
suffers is reflected by the Mount: if the Wraith is Stunned, so is the Mount; if the Wraith is cast into a
Harrowing, the Mount disappears. If the Wraith Embodies, the Shadow Mount Embodies too, and will
take 'damage' when the Wraith does, there. Unlike in the Underworld, the mount WILL leave tracks in
the Skinlands.
The Psyche does not have to know the Shadow Mount exists. It's the Shadow's prerogative to tell, or
keep it a secret for its own use.
Self-Destruct: 7 pts.
This rather nasty Thorn is the Shadow’s equivalent of self-cannibalism: it can use this ability to make
their Corpus transmute into free-floating Pathos. If the Shadow succeeds in this, it can whittle the
Wraith down into a whisper, and then she’ll fall right into the Labyrinth for a target Harrowing.
In order to activate this Thorn, the Shadow must spend a point of Current Being, and roll its new
Current Being at a difficulty of the Psyche’s Stamina. Each success causes one point of Corpus to be
turned into Pathos. The ill-created Pathos floats away before the Wraith can use it, and the loss of
Corpus cannot be soaked.
Reworked Thorns
Devil’s Dare: 5 pts.
This Thorn is the same as it’s listed in Wraith: The Oblivion 2nd ed, pg. 173 - the only change is that
its points cost has been lowered from 7 to 5.
Shadow Life: 7 pts.
This Thorn is the same as it’s listed in Wraith: The Oblivion 2nd ed, pg. 173 - the only change is that
its points cost has been raised from 5 to 7 to reflect how devastating this Thorn can be.
New Flaws
Eyes of Darkness: 4pt. Flaw
Sometimes, the Shadow’s power over the shared Corpus is such that its Being shines darkly through
the Psyche’s eyes. Wraiths with this Flaw have the cold, dark fires of Oblivion burning in their eyes, as
though they were Dopplegangers. Anyone who makes the detection roll on pg. 270 of Wraith: The
Oblivion 2nd ed. will believe the Wraith is a Spectre.
Rapaciousness: 7 pt. Flaw
Spectres are often seen attacking mortals, Wraiths and even fellow Spectres in utter, frenzied abandon
at the drop of a hat. This is because they are hungry, covetous creatures of intense emotions; when a
Spectre comes into contact with someone who shares its emotional essence, it has to resist the urge to
make that essence a part of itself the only way Spectres know how - messy, violent cannibalism. For
some reason, a few Shadows are also afflicted with this problem, and a Rapacious Shadow is a very
dangerous thing.
Any time such a Wraith comes into contact with a Wraith, Spectre, mortal or other sentient creature
who shares the emotion behind the Shadow’s Being, the Shadow must fight to keep control of itself. It
must roll its Current Being at a difficulty of 6. If it succeeds, it’s able to gnash its teeth and keep its
hunger in check, but if it fails it becomes Rapacious
A Rapacious Shadow will do whatever it can to take control of the body and devour the object of its
‘affections.’ It must attempt Catharsis if it has the Current Angst to do it, and if it doesn’t - or it fails
the Catharsis roll - it must lash out with any resources it has to destroy its target. A denied Shadow
cannot stop this behavior until either the target’s destroyed, or the Shadow’s run out of Current Angst,
at which point the effect ends.
If the Shadow succeeds at Catharsis, it makes an Emoting attack on the target. This is described in
depth in Dark Reflections: Spectres: the only change is that the Shadow rolls its Permanent Being in
the resisted roll, and each net success the Shadow gets drains one Permanent Willpower and gives the
Shadow a point of Current Being.
Keep in mind that the Shadow is under no obligation to make the Being roll to avoid Rapaciousness:
the Shadowguide is within her rights to say it lets this happen. Also keep in mind that once the
Emoting attack starts, the Shadow will press the attack until the target is dead or destroyed - even if the
Shadow’s Current Being is at its maximum level.
New Shadow Mechanics
Angst Gathering
For example: Joe's Shadow has a Dark Passion of "Make my Boss suffer" (Spite). When Joe's in
Catharsis, the Shadow could work to make Joe's boss suffer, see people feeling spiteful, or feel spiteful
itself (but for a different reason than what happened with Joe's boss). If so, it rolls that Dark Passion at
6, 8 or 9, respectively -- just as though it were the Psyche making Passion rolls to regain Pathos.
However, while the Psyche is in control of their shared Corpus, the Shadow has to try and trick Joe
into fulfilling the Dark Passion for it. So if Joe works to make his boss suffer, feeling spiteful all the
while, the Shadow rolls the Dark Passion at a Diff of 6. If Joe feels spiteful, the Shadow can roll at a
Diff of 9 even if it has nothing to do with his boss. And if Joe sees mortals feeling spiteful, and spends
any time around them, the Shadow can try to leech Angst from them at a Diff of 8. The difficulties and
conditions for a Shadow's gathering Temporary Angst are similar to a Wraith's for regaining Pathos,
but differ in some slight aspects: Shadows can make rolls when they're in Catharsis for their own
actions or observations, but can also roll if the Psyche performs the Dark Passion as described, or feels
the core emotion behind a Dark Passion.
Needless to say, Wraiths whose Psyches have emotions in common with their Shadows are in for a
rough time.
In addition: Shadows receive a minus 1 difficulty for any Angst-gathering rolls that involve its Being.
If Joe’s Shadow’s Being was ‘Spite,’ the difficulties in the example above would have been 5, 7 and 8,
respectively.
Castigation
The general rules for Castigation have only changed in the following cases:
** Dark Secrets: the difficulty is now the target’s Shadow’s Current Being.
***** Shadow Summons: the difficulty is now the target Shadow’s Permanent Being.
And, just in case it was never stated clearly: *** Purify cannot take away Permanent Angst. If Tom’s
Shadow has three Current Angst, and his Pardoner scores five successes on the Purify roll, then his
Shadow’s Current Angst drops to zero, and the two extra successes are lost.
Catharsis
The procedure for Catharsis has changed quite a bit.
In order to enter Catharsis, a Shadow no longer needs to match its Current Angst against the Permanent
Willpower of the Wraith. Instead, it may attempt to usurp control if its Current Angst is at least one
point higher than the Wraith’s Current Willpower.
The Shadow spends a point of Current Angst, and then rolls its Current Being at a difficulty of 6. The
Wraith rolls its Current Willpower at a difficulty of 6, and may add its unused Eidolon dice to the roll.
If the Shadow wins, it’s in charge for a Scene; if the Psyche wins, the Shadow’s attempt is defeated. If
the Psyche botches, the Shadow gains control and gets a point of Current Angst for every ‘1’ she
rolled; if the Shadow botches, it loses a point of Current Angst for every ‘1’ it rolled.
Also: if the Shadow attempts Catharsis while the Psyche is in the throes of the emotion behind its’
Being, the difficulty for the Shadow is 5, and the difficulty for the Psyche is 7.
Voluntary Catharsis
Wraiths have the option of allowing the Shadow to take their shared Corpus over. Sometimes the
Shadow can bring something to the party that the Psyche lacks - such as Shadow Traits or a very useful
Tainted Relic - and, if given the chance between the Shadow's control or a Harrowing, a Wraith will
pick the former.
This is never a good idea, even in the most straightforward of circumstances. However, there are times
that there seems to be little choice in the matter. The question of how much a Shadow might engineer
things to this point is worth asking, here...
All it takes for voluntary Catharsis to happen is the Psyche to willingly let the Shadow take over, and
the Shadow to do so. Other than that, the conditions and effects of this sort of Catharsis are exactly the
same as a normal Catharsis: the Psyche has merely declined to resist its happening through the
traditional roll.
Any Wraith who allows her Shadow to take control of their Corpus gains one point of Temporary
Angst. If the decision turns out to have been an extremely bad mistake, the Storyteller is within her
rights to award more Temporary Angst, and any spectacular RP on the behalf of the Shadow could be
cause for more Shadow Exp to be awarded at the end of the Session.
Hive Mind
All Shadows have a connection to the Hive Mind of Spectres. That link is nowhere near as strong as
the connection a Spectre has, but it’s enough to let Shadows learn how to use certain thorns, and keep
abreast of what’s going on in the Tempest - however unclearly.
Shadow Experience
Shadows get their own, separate experience, now, rather than taking a third of what the Psyche gets.
This is solely based on the roleplaying of the Shadowguide.
For most sessions, Shadows can get:
· One point - Acting: Did the Shadowguide play the Shadow to the hilt? Did she a do a good
job of maintaining an appropriate level of interference and dirty tricks without becoming
annoying OOC? Did she lay good plans, and then see them succeed as planed - if not better
than planned? If so, the Shadow deserves a point of Experience.
· One point - Being: Was the Shadow able to get the Psyche to feel the core emotion that
defines the Shadow’s Being? If so, it’s done very well for itself, and deserves a point of
Experience.
· One Point - Pure Nastiness: This is sort of the counterpoint to the Heroism award. If the
Shadowguide has the Shadow do something so outrageous, sneaky, underhanded or mind-
shattering that everyone around the table doesn’t know whether to applaud or groan in
sympathy with the Psyche, she deserves the Pure Nastiness award. Note that there is a
difference between nastiness and just being disgusting, sadistic or bothersome.
At the end of the Story, the Shadow can get an additional point of Experience for having succeeded in
whatever goals it laid out for the story. This can be anything from making the Psyche feel crippling
self-doubt to annihilating a Fetter or Passion. Both the Shadowguide and player of the Wraith should
cooperate in coming up with the goals, but the means to achieve them should be between the
Shadowguide and the Storyteller - it’s no fun for the Psyche if her player knows exactly what’s
coming, after all...
And, as always, the Storyteller is within her rights to award extra Experience to the Shadow if she feels
the Shadowguide did an exemplary job of playing it.
Shadow Experience Costs:
The guide for spending Shadow Experience is as follows:
· Thorns: usually this is the cost of taking the Thorn at character creation, but there are some
exceptions - see below.
· Dark Passions: 2 times the Current Rating.
· Being: Current Rating
Note that Dark Backgrounds, Permanent Angst and Temporary Angst cannot be bought with
Experience. These have to be earned through roleplay.
The exceptions to the normal cost for Thorns are:
· Death's Sigil: Death's Sigil can be bought up to 3 with Experience at the rate of 2 times the
Current Rating per level.
· Shadow Arcanoi: These cost 3 times the Current Rating to raise. If the Shadow is buying
Alternate Arts, then they cost as per the table on page 133 of W:TO 2nd ed. If the Shadow is
buying a whole new Arcanos to have for itself, it costs 5 Shadow Experience, and one Basic
Ability is gained.
· Shadow Traits: Shadow Traits, which are only available during Catharsis, build on the
Psyche's current understanding of things. It costs 2 times the Current Rating to increase a
Shadow Trait, but the Current Rating is one above the Psyche and Shadow's combined rating.
So if Fred has an Athletics of 2, and his Shadow has a Shadow Trait of Athletics 1, then their
combined rating in that Ability is 3, and it would cost 8 Shadow experience to raise the Shadow
Trait to 2.

And yes, it is possible for Shadow Traits to take an Ability over 5: some Shadows are scary that
way.
· Wrack: Wrack can be bought up to 5 at the rate of 2 times the Current Rating per level.