The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Wraith is the World of Darkness game where you get to play a ghost. I've had it on my shelf for some time, and am shortly going to try running it as a one-off or short campaign (having previously just drawn on the material for Mage). So I've picked up a couple more books recently, and this is one of them. For comparison, I also have two other Guildbooks - Artificers and Sandmen - which I've only skimmed. This review does contain something of a spoiler - in the end I decided to put it in because the game's been discontinued.

The Guildbooks are Wraith's "splatbooks", detailing major factions like their companions in White Wolf's other games. The difference, as at least one other reviewer has pointed out, is that player characters are quite unlikely to be Guild members. The Guilds are specialists in particular Arcanoi, the special powers that wraiths have, like causing strange noises and moving objects. Any wraith can have them, so you don't have to be in a Guild to practise its Arcanos. That's handy, because the Guilds were officially disbanded and outlawed around 1600, and as far as most wraiths are concerned they haven't existed since then. High-ranking wraiths often know that they still exist as secret societies, and have different attitudes to different Guilds depending on the usefulness of their services, but publicly revealing yourself as a member will result in punishment.

What all this means is that for many people the value of the Guildbooks is what they add to the overall setting, not the information for a player in that Guild. In any case you wouldn't want a player to read the whole book because it gives a lot of secrets they should work to discover over a long period. On the other hand, the Wraith line is itself dead (!) so you should pick up any books you think you want while you have the chance.

So what about 'Haunters'? First of all, it's short - 68 pages plus a 4-page extended character sheet. That means you could read it through in an evening - it's quite easy going - but the value for money is questionable. Haunters are masters of the Arcanos Pandemonium: the gentle art of creating sudden chills, mists, bleeding walls, swarms of vermin and distortions of time and space. In other words, it covers the weirdest and most grotesque aspects of classical hauntings. They call it "the Wylding", and claim that it's the gift of the Wyld, a primordial entity/force of creation and change that will be familiar to other White Wolf gamers. Their close association with it often leads to Haunters become chaotic both physically and mentally. But the core of the Haunters is their fixation on a grand metaphysical goal. It was this that brought them together, not Pandemonium - that was developed as a tool for accomplishing the goal. Simply (spoiler!) they want to bring down the Shroud, the barrier between the worlds of the living and the dead. All their supernatural stunts are aimed at convincing living humans (whose minds create the Shroud through their inability to accept the supernatural) that the dead are still here. So far they've been losing.

Introductory fiction, part of the story that runs through all the Guildbooks about what's going on at top Guild level, and the search for Charon. In this book it's short but reasonably interesting, though it seems like an interlude in the story rather than a major development.
An introduction to the Guild, written in character (though not obtrusively) by a Guild recruiter to an unstable individual who's shortly to become a wraith. (The Guild believes in training its members before they die, using various horrible visitations to get them into the right mindset.) By their nature Haunters don't naturally form into organised structures, and there are a number of major factions with quite different approaches, but they all work for the same goal and stand together against outsiders. There are brief mentions of other WoD critters.
A history of the Guild. The Haunters aren't interested in historical details as much as some other Guilds, having their eyes firmly fixed on their future goal, but of course they have been influenced by major events. Charon is definitely the Bad Guy in this story.
Pandemonium abilities additional to those in the main rulebook, and quirks, merits and flaws arising from its use. Each Guildbook gives a number of additional arts, and it makes sense that specialists in an Arcanos would have found more things to do with it than most others have. The ones here are fairly sensible things like writing messages with blood or insects, creating foul food and distorting spatial perceptions, as well as other nasty stuff. Some GMs might let players accomplish some of these effects with the rulebook arts. Extended use of any Arcanos has effects on a wraith, and the suggestions here are appropriate - I'd be inclined to make a heavy user pick one. I'm not a fan of Merits and Flaws, but the ones here are better than some that have been published. There's only one Artifact, and it's unique - Haunters aren't big on Stuff.
Template characters from five of the major factions. These are alright, but a brief inspection shows that the dots on the character sheets provided don't always match up with the written descriptions.
Finally, there's a short appendix giving a little bit more information about four of the most influential figures within the Guild. There are no stats.

I bought this book because, as probably the weirdest of the Arcanoi, Pandemonium appealed to my contrary nature. What I find in the Haunters is a Guild of individuals who often look chaotic and think chaotically, certainly do chaotic things and have only minimal levels of organisation - but are also very clear and focused. The crisp, clear writing style gets information across very well, and conveys the idea of being much less crazy than they like to appear - it sometimes feels a bit too together, though the chapter intro text does a better job with flavour. The metaphysical links are interesting (and could make for a connection with Mage), and there's certainly enough information about politics within the Guild - a simple main plotline, but adequate. The art is good, though some may be too cartoonishly grotesque if you prefer a mainly psychological game. But the book doesn't add a lot to the general setting because the Haunters aren't bound up with it in the same way as, say, the Artificers or Masquers - Pandemonium doesn't provide essential services like construction or personal grooming.

It's a good book, though short. Get it if you want a complete collection or specific information about the Haunters themselves. Otherwise, there are probably more useful purchases.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Wraith: Guildbook Haunters
Author: Lucien Soulban Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Wraith Cost: UKP 7.99 (USD 12.00) Page count: 72 ISBN: 1-56504-604-8 Capsule Review by Tim Gray on 10/21/00. Genre tags: Modern day Horror Gothic	Wraith is the World of Darkness game where you get to play a ghost. I've had it on my shelf for some time, and am shortly going to try running it as a one-off or short campaign (having previously just drawn on the material for Mage). So I've picked up a couple more books recently, and this is one of them. For comparison, I also have two other Guildbooks - Artificers and Sandmen - which I've only skimmed. This review does contain something of a spoiler - in the end I decided to put it in because the game's been discontinued. The Guildbooks are Wraith's "splatbooks", detailing major factions like their companions in White Wolf's other games. The difference, as at least one other reviewer has pointed out, is that player characters are quite unlikely to be Guild members. The Guilds are specialists in particular Arcanoi, the special powers that wraiths have, like causing strange noises and moving objects. Any wraith can have them, so you don't have to be in a Guild to practise its Arcanos. That's handy, because the Guilds were officially disbanded and outlawed around 1600, and as far as most wraiths are concerned they haven't existed since then. High-ranking wraiths often know that they still exist as secret societies, and have different attitudes to different Guilds depending on the usefulness of their services, but publicly revealing yourself as a member will result in punishment. What all this means is that for many people the value of the Guildbooks is what they add to the overall setting, not the information for a player in that Guild. In any case you wouldn't want a player to read the whole book because it gives a lot of secrets they should work to discover over a long period. On the other hand, the Wraith line is itself dead (!) so you should pick up any books you think you want while you have the chance. So what about 'Haunters'? First of all, it's short - 68 pages plus a 4-page extended character sheet. That means you could read it through in an evening - it's quite easy going - but the value for money is questionable. Haunters are masters of the Arcanos Pandemonium: the gentle art of creating sudden chills, mists, bleeding walls, swarms of vermin and distortions of time and space. In other words, it covers the weirdest and most grotesque aspects of classical hauntings. They call it "the Wylding", and claim that it's the gift of the Wyld, a primordial entity/force of creation and change that will be familiar to other White Wolf gamers. Their close association with it often leads to Haunters become chaotic both physically and mentally. But the core of the Haunters is their fixation on a grand metaphysical goal. It was this that brought them together, not Pandemonium - that was developed as a tool for accomplishing the goal. Simply (spoiler!) they want to bring down the Shroud, the barrier between the worlds of the living and the dead. All their supernatural stunts are aimed at convincing living humans (whose minds create the Shroud through their inability to accept the supernatural) that the dead are still here. So far they've been losing. The main sections: Introductory fiction, part of the story that runs through all the Guildbooks about what's going on at top Guild level, and the search for Charon. In this book it's short but reasonably interesting, though it seems like an interlude in the story rather than a major development. An introduction to the Guild, written in character (though not obtrusively) by a Guild recruiter to an unstable individual who's shortly to become a wraith. (The Guild believes in training its members before they die, using various horrible visitations to get them into the right mindset.) By their nature Haunters don't naturally form into organised structures, and there are a number of major factions with quite different approaches, but they all work for the same goal and stand together against outsiders. There are brief mentions of other WoD critters. A history of the Guild. The Haunters aren't interested in historical details as much as some other Guilds, having their eyes firmly fixed on their future goal, but of course they have been influenced by major events. Charon is definitely the Bad Guy in this story. Pandemonium abilities additional to those in the main rulebook, and quirks, merits and flaws arising from its use. Each Guildbook gives a number of additional arts, and it makes sense that specialists in an Arcanos would have found more things to do with it than most others have. The ones here are fairly sensible things like writing messages with blood or insects, creating foul food and distorting spatial perceptions, as well as other nasty stuff. Some GMs might let players accomplish some of these effects with the rulebook arts. Extended use of any Arcanos has effects on a wraith, and the suggestions here are appropriate - I'd be inclined to make a heavy user pick one. I'm not a fan of Merits and Flaws, but the ones here are better than some that have been published. There's only one Artifact, and it's unique - Haunters aren't big on Stuff. Template characters from five of the major factions. These are alright, but a brief inspection shows that the dots on the character sheets provided don't always match up with the written descriptions. Finally, there's a short appendix giving a little bit more information about four of the most influential figures within the Guild. There are no stats. I bought this book because, as probably the weirdest of the Arcanoi, Pandemonium appealed to my contrary nature. What I find in the Haunters is a Guild of individuals who often look chaotic and think chaotically, certainly do chaotic things and have only minimal levels of organisation - but are also very clear and focused. The crisp, clear writing style gets information across very well, and conveys the idea of being much less crazy than they like to appear - it sometimes feels a bit too together, though the chapter intro text does a better job with flavour. The metaphysical links are interesting (and could make for a connection with Mage), and there's certainly enough information about politics within the Guild - a simple main plotline, but adequate. The art is good, though some may be too cartoonishly grotesque if you prefer a mainly psychological game. But the book doesn't add a lot to the general setting because the Haunters aren't bound up with it in the same way as, say, the Artificers or Masquers - Pandemonium doesn't provide essential services like construction or personal grooming. It's a good book, though short. Get it if you want a complete collection or specific information about the Haunters themselves. Otherwise, there are probably more useful purchases. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

Wraith: Guildbook Haunters