So, with the 'big three' in both the Classic World of Darkness and what is now known as the Chronicles of Darkness (formerly new World of Darkness), things start to get a little different. The game lines stop mirroring each other exactly. I'll be following along the classic line in terms of what games to introduce, but I'll be posting in accordance to similar game lines for CofD games. At this point, the games have been pretty similar, in both theme and mood, as well as subject matter. However, with the release of the newer games, White Wolf (and later Onyx Path) decided to go in a new direction. Some of the games, thus have only minimal things in common. Furthermore, White Wolf introduced Promethean: the Created, which had no counterpoint in the classic line. To give them credit, though, the classic line had books dedicated to gameplay in other parts of the world.

So, what spectacular game would follow up Mage: the Ascension for the classic line? Well, the games have already discussed the idea of ghosts in the game. Ghosts had a special treatment in the World of Darkness, a treatment that would carry over to the newer games. Instead of the standard nine attributes, they only had three, and interaction with the physical realm was limited, so having scores like strength were just silly. Instead, ghosts used three scores that they could use to interact with the world around them, based off the overarching scores of Power, Resistance and Finesse. To interact with the world, the ghosts used spooky powers called Numina. Ghosts were tied to objects, people and places, often unable to leave them in order to move on. For all this detail, however, there never was quite a Ghost: the Haunting game for White Wolf..

Except.. that there sort of was. Wraith: the Oblivion was a dour and deeply dark game about spirits who could not quite move on. They could reside in the Shadowlands, a dismal place of constant danger and stifling dictatorships. There, a horrific storm tore through the ranks of the dead, tearing away spirits into a state of oblivion, or non-existence. Furthermore, Spirits were tired to their anchors, the objects, memories, people, places and events that kept them going, while the self-destructive shades of their past selves seek an eternal end to their existence. The game used an interesting mechanic towards this end: character shades were played by other players, often enticing them towards allowing them to gain more and more control. The more the character gave in to their dark desires, the closer they got towards Oblivion.

Wraith characters gain ghostly powers called Archanoi, which are ancient secrets taught by now-disbanded-but-not-really Guilds. The act of interacting with the living (or Skinlands or the Quick) is banned. To disobey the law of Charon is to be sent into slavery, where souls are hammered into pretty much anything physical in the underworld. Spectres whom follow the will of Oblivion seek to pull the dead into a horrid storm that threatens to wrench souls asunder. This doesn't include any of the machinations of individual spirits who have their own ends and needs. Being stuck between life and nothingness, the armies of the dead and freedom, and numerous factions, the game has a hard, heavy edge to it that hammers home. It's a deep, thick game filled with remorse, difficult choices and the question of whether you'd be willing to risk it to move forward, when doing so could slip you further into decay.

The classic line was good, but only saw one edition that wasn't re-released until Onyx Path went largely digital. White-wolf tried a similar game concept, Orpheus, which was a closed-story game line about an organization that allowed living people to contact the dead, but it wasn't quite 'World of Darkness', and the five game books featured a progressive storyline (as opposed to open-ended play). It was good, allowing humans to take on the ghostly powers of the dead, and sort of formed as a bridge between the old game and the new (this concept was sort of borrowed for a later game, but in a different sort). This game was brighter, but the Orpheus Corporation had it's own dark secrets, and should the borders between the living and the dead be held open like this? It was a good game, but released towards the end of the classic line, designed to sort of give one last holler to the old Wraith line without a re-release.

The newer WoD lines didn't have a Wraith equivalent for the longest time. The fourth game offered by White Wolf's newer WoD still dealt with the dead, but this time it was more their physical remnants that were the focus. Promethean: the Created shared some of the heart of W:tO, but it was a very different game. Of all the newer game lines, this one received the least amount of play from what I've seen, with online communities often ignoring its existence or only offering games in stand-alone fashion. I can attribute this to the very dismal nature of the game. Promethean: the Created is as depressing as it is beautiful. You see, you play as the dead, resurrected through infusion of Azoth, the spark of creation and alchemical process into new beings. The game takes elements of myth, and old pseudoscience to provide a unique look into the Frankenstein myth. Your characters are not human, and wish to be so. Nature and mankind rebel against your toxic existence, as you are an affront to anything normal. People slowly turn against you, societies start to hate, animals flee, skies wrench with unnatural storms, so long as you languish in a single place.

Thus, your character travels, unable to seek refuge or rest for long periods of time, constantly seeking out companionship, knowledge and what it means to be human. You are gifted with the inability to die, and the use of alchemical powers that reflect your journey forward. You are hunted by the horrific abominations, cast-offs and failures by other Prometheans, including yourself, as you cannot be truly human until you understand progeny. Worse, there are those Prometheans whom have given up on the search for humanity itself, finding ties with these horrors and seeking more to emulate and find kin with them. Should you survive these, and somehow reach the end of your pilgrimage, you may find the secret to true humanity and be reborn as a normal person. It's a game I've always wanted to play, but it's so heavy and deep that many people look at it and pass on. Good game, but almost unrelentingly depressing.

As you can see, this game wasn't exactly the same as Wraith (probably not at all) except in terms of the basic dark, deep, heavy mood. White Wolf wouldn't revisit the idea until years later, after CCP had dissolved the company's physical locale. It took the form of Geist: the Sin-Eaters. One of my favorite games happens to be terribly organized. It has fantastic ideas, but it's clear that each chapter was written by someone different, and that the chapters don't exactly coincide well. This was partly fixed by a rerelease a few months later, although only in digital format. Some of the rules contradicted themselves, or were found in strange places or entirely different chapters, and its this that gives me the main complaint about the book. The idea is solid. Characters die. They go to the underworld and in that moment between life and death, they strike a deal with a death god-spirit-thing to come back to life, except now they share their life with the spirit.. and the spirit is no longer human.

Now, they straddle the line between life and death. They see the dead, as easily as anything else and it takes concentration to turn it off. Better yet, the ghosts can see them, and they are drawn to the Sin-Eater like moths to a flame. Sin-Eaters get ghostly powers that are unlocked with keys granted by memorabilia, trinkets and items empowered from the memories of the deceased and death. It's part Day of the Dead, part Victorian Seance and part wake. The game is lighter in tone than the other counterparts, but still just as deep and dark. It's a celebration, a second chance, but it's also a party for the dead. Player's powers are in part based off how they died, in part based off the Geist that shares a body with them and can be increased by the accumulation of accoutrement, or finding secrets within the underworld. Sin-Eaters (characters) teach each other different Ceremonies, rituals that bridge the gap between man and ghost, often trading them. Players must maintain a balance between their new residents and themselves, or find themselves overcome by one or the other, perhaps permanently dividing the two into a violent mishmash.

It's a good, good game. surprisingly full of moral grey areas and fun times. Power levels don't increase heavily, though players can literally start a religion if they get enough people as part of their death-cult. The game takes the entire experience of death and turns it into a grand adventure. You live, you die, you live again, and dying is so much harder, and there's so much more to it, that it becomes part of living. What do you do with your second life? If you do choose to play this game, which I recommend, I strongly encourage using the option that allows other players to play as your geist. It's intriguing when the Geist tells you no to something you want to do, or just reminds you that maybe the lady in front of you in the check-out with 20 items should really be on fire for being in the wrong lane. On. Fire.

Just don't say bloody mary three times in a mirror in a darkened room.